Translated by Angela Tagliafierro
The island of Taiwan, known as the important production of chips, has been hit by a strong earthquake on April 03rd, 2024. It is the strongest earthquake ever registered in twenty-five years.
The shakes
At 7.58 a.m., local time, on April 03rd, 2024, the ground started to shake at a magnitude 7.4, 18 km far from Hualien City, on the east coast of the island with around 100.00 citizens. The first shake was followed by a second one at a magnitude 6.5 in the sea, 11 km far from Hualien City. In the following hours, fifty-eight shakes followed: two of them over magnitude 6. The total is 100 shakes, including those at a magnitude less than 5.
The consequences
The earthquake caused a number of landslides and destroyed several means of communication. As a matter of fact, the pictures from the island show how the avalanches hit the streets, isolating numerous residential areas near Hualien City. Furthermore, the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs made known the collapse of the Qingshui Bridge, at the north of the Qingshui tunnel.
Nevertheless, only twenty-six buildings got sloped or collapsed after the earthquake. This is due to the fact that the dangerousness of the area and after the 1999 earthquake, Taiwan adopted new techniques of engineering. As a matter of fact, 2415 people died and, 51711 buildings were damaged because of a shake at magnitude 7.3. The current situation is completely different.
The depreciation of the damage is visible through one of the main images, which is considered like the symbol of the earthquake: the Uranus building, composed of ten floors, got sloped at 45° after the shakes.
Although it is still too early to have a report of the final consequences of the earthquake, around ten people died in Hualien City, and 1060 people were wounded. Furthermore, 38 people are still missing and around a hundred people are isolated.
The China’s military proposal
After the earthquake, Beijing’s Office for the Affairs in Taiwan expressed its solidarity “to the compatriots of the island”. As a matter of fact, China considers Taiwan like its own land, which contrasts with the International Law and the sovereignty of Taiwan.
On the social media X the Taiwanese Ministry of the Foreign Affairs published a map showing three fighter aircraft and seven ships placed by the Beijing People's Army within the island, and he added “The Chinese Communist Party does the opposite of what it says”.
Mondo Internazionale APS - Reproduction Reserved ® 2024