Around 11.50 p.m. on Tuesday, an earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck killing nine people, injuring 265 and leaving 62 others missing as per the latest statistics derived.
Rescuers in Taiwan have searched all the damaged buildings on 8thFebruary seeking many people who have gone missing after the powerful earthquake had ravaged the eastern coast of the island.
The magnitude 6.4 quake had struck around 11.50 p.m.
It was centred about 14 miles northeast of the coastal city of Hualien. The shaking was experienced across Taiwan.
But in Hualien the force was tremendous and it led to the collapse of walls and left buildings resting at alarming angles. On Thursday officials have confirmed that the death toll included people in the age group of 37 to 66.
And most of the missing were thought to be trapped inside the 12-story Yun Men Tsui Ti building that had housed a small hotel, a hot-pot restaurant and apartments.
Nearly 196 people had been rescued so far from that building and three others.
About 800 people went to bed inside shelters on Wednesday, approximately 500 at the Hualein Gymnasium and over 300 at the Chungwa Primary School. Their homes were damaged or destroyed.
At the school, people slept bundled up in heavy blankets and wearing caps and coats.
Rescuers continued to deliver their best efforts, working among the debris of bricks, gnarled rebar and much more as humming generators powered emergency floodlights.
Taiwan is based at the intersection of the Philippine Sea tectonic plate that is moving west at about 3 inches a year and the Eurasian plate that extends east from mainland China.
It experiences frequent seismic activity.
Two other strong quakes of magnitude 5.3 and 6.1 had been recorded within 45 minutes of each other on Sunday night close to Hualein. Chen Kuo-chang, the acting director of the Central Weather Bureau’s Seismology Center, told the Central News Agency.
