TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A video was posted on social media on Sunday (Sept. 18) showing hikers knocked over as they stood on a mountain in southeastern Taiwan during a magnitude 6.8 earthquake.
At 2:44 p.m. on Sunday, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck southeastern Taiwan. Videos have emerged showing the impact around the country, such as the collapse of a gymnasium roof, the rescue of a woman from the rubble of a building, and bikers avoiding a rockfall on the Southern Cross-Island Highway.
That same day, three women were attending a class led by Kao Chien-hsiang (高健翔) on ethnobotany on Zhuoxi Mountain, which is located in Hualien County's Zhuoxi Township and stands over 1,000 meters in height. A video of the incident was posted on the Facebook page "Panita Mountaineering Association of Hualien County" (卓溪鄉登山協會) on Sunday evening.
Kao (left) leaps to the side as students fall to the ground. ("Panita Mountaineering Association of Hualien County screenshot)
In the video, the students are listening to Kao give his lecture, when the mountain starts to shake. The cameraman advises Kao to hold onto the snare he was gripping because an earthquake has begun.
A woman in a white jacket falls to her knees and a woman in a blue jacket tries to catch her, but also is forced to the ground. The third female student falls to her knees, while Kao leaps to the side to clear himself from the snare and starts army crawling.
One of the students says that the earthquake must be a magnitude 7, while the man filming believes it is even higher. He also noted that there was a rumbling sound coming from the mountain, which they later determined was rockfalls.
According to the post, the Forestry Bureau's 50-year-old Zhuoxi Mountain viewing platform, which can be seen in the background, did not sustain any damage. The author of the post also pointed out that the people seen in the video reported to their family members that they were unharmed.
