A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Hualien, Taiwan at 7:58 a.m. yesterday, causing severe damage along the eastern corridor. As of this evening, there are still 3 early warning road closures and 9 disaster-blocked road sections. Among them, Provincial Line 9 Daqingshui Tunnel Qingshui Bridge and Provincial Highway 8 Zhongheng Highway are the most serious. Engineers revealed that to date, an average of one rock falls every 10 minutes in front of Jiuku Cave on the Zhongheng Highway. Rescue work is very dangerous. Additionally, the mountainous region today is experiencing strong winds, limiting the use of drones and only personnel can be relied upon to conduct disaster surveys on foot.
The 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Hualien temporarily disrupted the Eastern Railway and the Overseas Railways. fortunately,Taiwan RailwaysIt reopened to traffic this morning after 16 hours of emergency repairs. As for the seriously damaged highways, many sections still need to be repaired, and as of this evening nearly 400 tremors have occurred, resulting in continuous rockfall, making disaster relief work very difficult. Has gone.
Lin Wenxiong, director of the Eastern District Maintenance Engineering Branch of the Highway Bureau, said this timeEarthquakeIt caused several disasters on Suhua Highway and Zhongheng Highway. Among them, the most serious disasters were from south of Heping to Zhongheng Highway. The aftershocks of the earthquake continue even today. For example, an average of one rock falls every 10 minutes in front of Jiukou Cave on the Zhongheng Highway. The danger of passing disaster equipment is high, so stop immediately if there is danger.
Lin Wenxiong pointed out that the disaster sites on Zhongheng Highway were densely affected. Among them, the Jiuqudong section has the largest number of people and vehicles stranded. Tonight, priority will be given to evacuating the stranded people. The Baiyang section will take more time due to falling boulders. If there is no continued extension of the disaster, and we hope that most sections of the road will be cleared on the 6th. However, the Huorting section of the road, which was originally blocked in both directions and caused unknown disaster conditions, today has limited the use of drones due to the strong winds in the mountainous area, and only personnel can conduct disaster surveys on foot. Can be trusted. ,It is still impossible to estimate the repair time.
With the arrival of the front, there will be significant rainfall over the eastern part of the region and the central mountainous region in the next few days. He said the rain event has both positive and negative significance for emergency repair work. In case of rain, before the opening of traffic on the 6th, the relevant machinery and equipment will already be in place. Inside, it is convenient for immediate emergency repairs, but the slopes that have just been hit by a strong earthquake are relatively fragile. If it rains after opening to traffic on the 6th, the road may be blocked again. The public is urged not to enter the hilly area unless necessary.
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