Taiwan mobilizes rescue response at first moment following Kaohsiung’s “once in a century” earthquake
By Freesun News at 10 March, 2010, 5:52 pm
Taiwan experienced a 6.4 magnitude earthquake at 8:18 a.m. local time on March 4. With an epicenter in Jiaxian Township, Kaohsiung County, the tremblor was the strongest to hit the local area in a century. Nearly 100 township residents were injured, close to 500 dwellings and 587 schools were damaged. One bridge developed stress fractures and a high-speed train was slightly derailed.
After the lessons learned from the flooding in the wake of Typhoon Morakot, which struck southern Taiwan in August 2009, government agencies displayed high efficiency. The National Fire Agency under the Ministry of the Interior formed an emergency response task force within two minutes of the earthquake’s occurrence, which contacted the response centers of each local fire department to monitor the disaster situation. The Armed Forces also mobilized troops 17 minutes after the tremblor, which proceeded to the disaster area to inspect the situation and help people evacuate. The military also dispatched reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters to check on indigenous peoples of the mountainous areas.
The first-moment mobilization by each government agency during this earthquake won the affirmation of elected representatives from both the ruling and opposition parties. International media, such as Hong Kong’s Ming Pao, pointed out that the government in Taiwan took to heart the lessons learned from last August’s post-typhoon flooding disaster, demonstrating the highest governmental efficiency by dispatching military troops minutes after the earthquake for disaster rescue.
Various members of the international community offered expressions of concern to Taiwan regarding the earthquake, including messages of care and sympathy from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Paraguay and Israel. The U.S. and Japan both stated willingness to provide aid at any time. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in turn expressed the heartfelt gratitude of the ROC government and people for the sincere concern of the international community.
Please visit Taiwan Today for related stories
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