Mataram –
The Taiwan earthquake measuring 7.5 magnitude left a sad story for Indonesian citizens (WNI) living in Taiwan. They felt the earthquake vibrations for quite a long time at 07.58 Hualien City time, Wednesday (3/4/2024).
Ismah Rustam, a PhD student at National Cheng Chi University for the International Doctoral Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, said the earthquake damaged several skyscrapers in Hualien City. The earthquake occurred while he and other students were sleeping in an apartment in Taipei City.
Isma said that the entire apartment building shook and made all the residents scared and scattered out. Isma’s residence is around 160 kilometers (km) from the earthquake epicenter in Hualien City.
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“I was in a sleeping position, after the morning prayer, suddenly the shaking was really big and it didn’t stop, it was a shock,” said Isma, who is also a lecturer in international relations at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Mataram (Unram) to detikBaliWednesday afternoon.
As a result of the earthquake vibrations, said Irma, several buildings and apartment buildings in Taipei City experienced cracks, but they were not as badly damaged as what happened in Hualien City. From the information he got, several buildings collapsed and tilted.
“From current information, there were fatalities, but not Indonesian citizens,” said Isma.
Isma revealed that the Taiwan earthquake was different from the Lombok earthquake in 2018 which damaged thousands of residents’ houses. The Taiwan earthquake was quite powerful, but did not damage many buildings, especially in Taipei City.
“I still feel traumatized. I’m more worried about fear. Which is worse? It’s bigger and lasts longer than the 2018 earthquake in Lombok,” he said.
Isma said that almost all cities in Taiwan shook tremendously due to the earthquake that occurred this morning. In fact, based on information, the earthquake was felt throughout the city.
“Earlier, many large aftershocks were still felt, ranging from 5 to 6 magnitudes. But as of this afternoon, the aftershocks were smaller and less intense,” said this doctoral student from Tarakan, North Kalimantan.
Currently, all students and Indonesian citizens in Taiwan have coordinated with the Indonesian Economic Trade Office (KDEI) in Taipei City. All students provided information to each other to monitor conditions at the epicenter of the earthquake.
“There are many students from S1 to S3 here, we contact each other,” he said.
According to Isma, until now there has been no information about Indonesian citizens being victims of the Taiwan earthquake. However, this information continues to be updated to the Indonesian Embassy for the protection of Indonesian citizens in Taiwan.
Reporting from Detik news, an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale hit the east coast of Taiwan on Wednesday (3/4/2024) causing at least nine people to die. This number is expected to continue to increase considering that up to now there are at least 711 people injured and 127 people who are still ‘trapped’.
The earthquake caused several buildings to collapse in Hualien, the city closest to the epicenter. Rescue efforts are still underway in Hualien.
Earthquake vibrations were felt in mountainous areas in the interior of Taiwan which were marked by large-scale landslides. In Taipei City’s Obu, video footage showed buildings swaying strongly.
“The earthquake was close to land and shallow. This earthquake was felt throughout Taiwan and the offshore islands. This earthquake was the strongest earthquake in the last 25 years,” said Wu Chien Fu, Director of the Taipei Seismological Center.
Watch the video “View of buildings in Taipei ‘swaying’ shaken by powerful 7.5 M earthquake”
[Gambas:Video 20detik]
(nor/dpw)