Taiwan, Over 300 Aftershocks on Second Day and More Than 1,000 Injured... Full-Scale Search Efforts Underway

24 Trapped Inside Collapsed 8-Story Building Rescued
TSMC and Semiconductor Companies to Resume Operations
Donation Campaigns Continue Inside and Outside Taiwan

Taiwan, now on the second day after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, is making every effort to search for missing persons and recover from damages despite over 300 aftershocks continuing.

According to Taiwan Central News Agency on the 4th, the Central Disaster Response Center announced that as of 1:10 PM that day, the death toll stood at 9 and the number of injured reached 1,058. While the number of deaths remained the same as the previous day, the injured increased from 946 to over 1,000.

The fatalities occurred as follows: 4 in Taroko National Park, 1 at Suhua Expressway parking lot, 2 at Dachingsui Tunnel rest area, 1 in a mining area, and 1 in a building in Hualien County city.

There are 646 people trapped in collapsed buildings and other locations. However, the number of trapped individuals may increase. Taroko National Park reported that a total of 654 people, including staff and tourists, stayed overnight in the park, and with those who entered the mountain the previous day, the initial estimate is that at least 1,000 people are trapped in the mountains.

Authorities are searching for missing and buried persons in the rubble of collapsed buildings, focusing on Hualien County, which suffered direct damage from the earthquake. At an eight-story building that was leaning just before collapse, 24 of the 25 trapped people were safely rescued except for one fatality, and search efforts are ongoing.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, Taiwan's semiconductor production facilities, which experienced some disruptions due to the earthquake, are resuming operations. TSMC, the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer), stated that it expects to restart operations overnight at the facilities that had been halted due to the earthquake. Other semiconductor companies such as United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) also evacuated some factory workers and temporarily stopped operations for inspections, but they are expected to resume production soon.

Donations to support earthquake victims continue both inside and outside Taiwan. Yoshiki, drummer and leader of the famous Japanese band X Japan, donated 10 million yen (approximately 89 million KRW) to the Republic of China Red Cross Society, requesting that it be used to help Taiwanese disaster victims. Additionally, FamilyMart installed donation boxes at franchise stores across Japan, and Apple partner Foxconn and its founder Terry Gou also made donations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.