Update: As of Tuesday morning, a total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to area hospitals according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Additionally, 50 people remain isolated due to road disruption in Chiayi County's Dapu District Xixing Village, near the epicenter of the earthquake.
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurred at 12:17 a.m. on Tuesday, centered in Chiayi County.
According to early reports, four people in nearby Tainan’s Nanxi District were injured and sent to the hospital. The individuals were rescued from 10 single-story residences on Minzu Road that collapsed during the earthquake and associated aftershocks, per CNA.
Rescue teams reacted swiftly to the emergency early in the morning. The Tainan Fire Bureau reported injuries were minor bruises and cuts, though hospital care was required.
A woman in her 80s, a lifelong resident of Nanxi, described her experience to local media, noting she could barely escape to safety.
Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) visited the affected area early Tuesday shortly after the earthquake, pledging assistance to the affected residents. Rescuers warned residents to be vigilant against aftershocks and structural damage to nearby residences and buildings.
The earthquake also damaged Chiayi County’s Dapu Township, resulting in a cancellation of work and school on Tuesday. According to local Borough Chief Chen Tien-chu (陳天助), the earthquake shook grocery store shelves, causing wine bottles to fall and break.
Chen said that cracks appeared in villagers' homes, with many bricks and tiles falling off. Some residents even reported that their toilets cracked during the earthquake.
The quake also damaged roads in Dapu Township, especially the main road leading to a neighborhood near Dapu Reservoir. The disruption of traffic left 50 villagers trapped, though communication with this community revealed no injuries.
Firefighters attempted to check on the villagers, but debris on the road made it impassable. Damage in this community was confined to a burst water pipe and the partial collapse of a wall.
In nearby Chiayi, firefighters responded to a fire in a multistory residential building on Shixian Road. There have been no reports of people injured or trapped due to the fire.
