BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – His Majesty King Mswati III sympathises with the Republic of China (Taiwan) on the earthquake that engulfed the Asian island today.
The King, together with Her Majesty the Indlovukazi, have mandated Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini to send condolences to Taiwan on the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that has hit the Far East island today (April 3, 2024) at around 1:58am (7:58am Taiwan time).
In this image taken from a video from TVBS, a partially collapsed building is seen in Hualien, eastern Taiwan.
Taking to his Facebook page, Dlamini said: “I have it in command by His Majesty King Mswati III to extend our deepest condolences on behalf of His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, the Government and the People of the Kingdom of Eswatini, to the President, the Government and the people of the Republic of China (Taiwan) following the loss of four lives and over 700 injuries in the strongest earthquake recorded in over 25 years.”
The Prime Minister said it was the hope and prayer of Emaswati that the Almighty God would comfort the Government and the Republic of China (Taiwan) during this difficult time. “We further pray that the emergency response providers work swiftly and safely in responding to this disaster,” Dlamini concluded.
Here is the summary of what happened, regarding the earthquake, according to The Guardian (theguardian.com):
- At least four people are now reported to have been killed in Taiwan’s earthquake. The national fire agency said they died in Hualien County. Hualien was near the epicenter of the quake.
- Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years struck the island’s eastern coast at 7:58am local time on Wednesday, causing buildings to collapse and triggering landslides.
- The earthquake also prompted tsunami warnings on the island as well as southern Japan and northern Philippines – though both Japan and the Philippines have since lifted their warnings.
- The quake’s epicentre was located 25km southeast of the city of Hualien, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration.
- Japan’s meteorological agency gave a magnitude of 7.7, while Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency registered 7.2.
- A fire department official in Hualien county said that “two buildings had collapsed and some people are believed to be trapped”.
- In a televised national briefing, Taiwan’s National Fire Agency said 26 buildings were reported “to tilt or collapse”, though it gave no details on the location of the structures.
- Earlier, Taiwan’s fire department said more than 50 were injured, while local media reported residents were trapped inside collapsed buildings in the city of Hualien.
- Taiwan’s electricity operator – Taipower- has said more than 87,000 people across the country are now without power.
- Train lines were damaged, and schools and workplaces were closed across large areas of Hualien. Across Taiwan, more than 87,000 households were without power.
- Violent shaking was felt in the capital Taipei, with aftershocks continuing throughout the day. The city’s subway service was briefly suspended, and some offices and schools said they would send staff home for the day.
- TSMC, Taiwan’s leading manufacturer of advance chips, responsible for the production of most of the world’s advanced semiconductors, also evacuated its production lines.
- Japan’s Meterological Agency warned of aftershocks of similar intensity to those felt in Taiwan may be likely over the next week.
- Global internet monitor Netblocks has said that internet outages were being registered in parts of Taiwan after the quake.
