Hundreds stranded after deadly 7.4 magnitude quake hits Taiwan

Residents in Hualien faced a lengthy clean up on Thursday as teams worked to clear debris and assess buildings for structural damage. 

Hualien resident Deng Huimei, 63, told CNN his house “was a mess” following the quake and though it was still standing, huge cracks had appeared along the side of the staircase and “chunks of wall that had fallen off were all over the ground.”

He was putting groceries away when the quake hit.

Deng said he has lived through multiple earthquakes and before fleeing his house, grabbed a bicycle helmet and sturdy shoes to protect himself from broken glass and debris.

“I took my safety helmet, changed my shoes, and I wanted to see if there was anyone outside who needed help.”

Hualien Mayor Wei Jia-Yan told CNN the damage in the city is mainly confined to buildings that have partially collapsed and that structural engineers are assessing how hazardous they are. Some, he said, “can only be demolished and rebuilt.”

He said children there are taught from a young age that “Hualien is a place with frequent earthquakes.” 

Aftershocks continued to rattle Taiwan a day after the 7.4 magnitude quake struck just south of Hualien County, the island's worst-affected region.

As of Thursday afternoon, more than 40 aftershocks of magnitude 4 or higher have struck near Taiwan's east coast, including a 6.4-magnitude tremor, according to data from the United States Geological Survey.

Taiwanese officials warned aftershocks as high as magnitude 7 could continue until the end of the week.

Among those trapped following the massive earthquake in Taiwan were 50 hotel employees in Hualien County, who had been traveling to work in minibuses when the quake hit. 

After being unreachable for most of Wednesday, three workers managed to hike to the Silks Place Hotel in Taroko Gorge and reported that the rest were safe, according to Taiwan's official Central News Agency.

Video from the fire agency Thursday showed some of the trapped hotel staff in a road tunnel in the gorge, with visible damage to their van.

Hualien fire service said rescuers were waiting for roads to be cleared to enter the tunnel, where 20 more tourists were also stranded, according to CNA.

Taroko Gorge is a popular tourist destination renowned for its natural beauty. Three hikers died at the gorge Wednesday after they were struck by falling rocks following the 7.4 magnitude quake.

Rescue efforts in Taiwan on Thursday are focused on more than 60 people stranded in a quarry in Hualien — and on reaching those cut off in surrounding mountain gorges, officials said in an update.

Drone footage from CNN affiliate CTS showed workers at the damaged quarry perched on the edge of a steep cliff high above the gorge.

One person was killed by rockfall in a second quarry, though six other workers were rescued, with dramatic video from the fire agency showing a helicopter airlifting them from a narrow outcrop of rock high up in the mountains.

For such a large quake, the death toll remains relatively low and damage appears limited. As well as nine people dead, 1,050 were injured with 46 missing or uncontactable. There were 101 people still trapped or stranded with rescue operations ongoing, according to Taiwan’s National Fire Agency.

Aftershocks rattled Taiwan a day after a powerful 7.4 magnitude quake struck just south of Hualien County, the worst-affected region, killing at least nine people, buckling buildings and triggering landslides.

About 300,000 people live in the region where the quake struck, a third of whom live in the main city of Hualien.

Hualien resident Hong Changyi told CNN his liquor store was in one of the buildings felled by the quake.

“All my goods, including all my supplies on the bottom floor were destroyed,” he said.

“The shops that have been operating for over a decade are gone in one morning, it’s painful to see. But people are safe, so that’s fortunate.”

Widespread destruction: The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, with road and some rail closures curtailing access to Hualien. But videos and images showed several collapsed buildings in the region, and sections of the Suhua highway — a narrow and windy cliff road that connects Hualien with the north of Taiwan — completely crumbled away or blocked by large boulders and rockfall.

The 7.4 magnitude earthquake that killed at least nine people and injured hundreds Wednesday, is the strongest to hit Taiwan in 25 years.

Over the past 50 years, the island has experienced a total of seven major earthquakes, the last being a 7.1 magnitude quake in 2006 in Pingtung County in southern Taiwan.

The island sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which makes it prone to quakes.

Rescue workers in Taiwan are searching for more than 100 people who remain trapped a day after the island was hit by its most powerful earthquake in 25 years.

In an update Thursday morning, officials said the death toll stands at nine, with 1,050 people injured and 101 people still stranded.

Some 46 people remain missing or uncontactable, according to the National Fire Agency, citing the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The agency said a further 961 people have been evacuated, with 628 in shelters.

In Hualien, search and rescue operations are ongoing, according to Lin Chih-cheng from the Professional Civil Engineers Association. He said 100 buildings have been categorized as dangerous and many would have to be demolished.

Miners rescued: Among those now safe are six miners who were trapped in an open pit quarry. Video released by the National Fire Agency shows a helicopter hovering over the site during the rescue mission.

Meanwhile, the Hualien Fire Bureau said 11 tourists, including three foreign nationals, were rescued from Taroko Gorge National Park, a popular scenic destination near the quake's epicenter.

Drone footage shows the remote location of an open pit quarry where six miners were rescued in Hualien County, near the massive earthquake's epicenter.

The clip from CNN affiliate CTS shows rescue workers at the Zhonghe mine.

In the footage, the camera pans in on a barren, dusty landscape set in steep cliffs and strewn with loose rocks. The rescue workers miners stand next to sandbags, by what appears to be a crushed vehicle.

See the scene at the quarry:

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post misidentified the people in the footage. They are rescue workers.

More details are emerging about the victims of Taiwan's earthquake, the strongest to hit the island in a quarter century.

The 7.4 magnitude quake struck the island’s east coast Wednesday morning, killing at least nine and injuring hundreds of others.

Most of the victims were killed by falling rocks, according to Taiwanese authorities.

Here's what we know: