Massive Aftershock Brings More Death and Destruction to Taiwan
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
ANTOU, Taiwan -- A further massive earthquake aftershock struck Taiwan early Sunday, bringing more death and destruction hours after a state of emergency was declared over more than 100,000 homeless refugees.
The shockwave, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, killed at least three people and caused several more high-rise buildings to collapse in central regions already devastated by Tuesday's quake, according to initial reports.
Rescue officials said a man and a woman were killed by a landslide in Shuili in Nantou county and another person died in Loku. Local radio also reported a death in Puli, also in Nantou.
A 12-storey apartment block, already damaged, collapsed on a busy road in Nantou city and a neighbouring office, exploded and burst into flames.
It was unclear whether anyone had been inside. The 40 flats were evacuated after Tuesday's 7.6-Richter-scale quake that killed more than 2,000 people, but residents had been returning to pick up possessions.
Former sixth floor resident Chen Shu-fen said through tears: "The block was declared dangerous, but people removed the barricades and went back in." South Korean disaster specialists were probing the rubble for signs of life.
The 10-second quake also set off numerous landslides across the country, and forced the suspension of continuing rescue and reconstruction operations.
Taiwan's Seismology Centre said the tremor came from the same faultline as Tuesday's devastating quake -- one of the largest worldwide this century and the biggest ever on the tremor-plagued island.
They revised earlier warnings to say that large aftershocks could continue for up to two months. Tremors of more than 6.0 on the Richter scale could be expected until two weeks after Tuesday's strike.
By early Sunday, 7,270 aftershocks had struck Taiwan -- an average of one a minute since Tuesday's pre-dawn quake. |
