Taiwan, the day after the earthquake, woke up with a toll - still not definitive - of nine dead and more than 800 injured. But there are many missing people and dozens of workers were trapped in two coal mines.
The earthquake was of magnitude 7.4, with a second shock of 6.5 and a hundred aftershocks. The most powerful in the last 25 years.
Taiwanese television broadcast images of buildings tilted and twisted at precarious angles near the epicenter, which was located just off the coast at a depth of about 15 km. In Taipei, the "101" skyscraper swayed dangerously due to both the first shock and subsequent aftershocks, while the subway and high-speed trains were blocked for safety inspections.
“The most important thing, the highest priority, is to save people,” President-elect William Lai said immediately, speaking outside one of the most damaged buildings in the city of Hualien, whose county remained cut off from the rest of the island due to the collapse of bridges, landslides and the breakdown of the road network.
Aftershocks could continue for four days, experts have warned.
Solidarity immediately arrived from all over the world, from the White House to Europe, all ready to help Taiwan.
(Unioneonline/ss)