Taiwan has recently experienced a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on April 3rd. This being the strongest earthquake Taiwan has experienced in 25 years, at least 13 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured.
The quake struck just before 8 a.m. and was centered off the coast of rural, mountainous Hualien County. Many buildings had leaned at severe angles and their ground floors were crushed in the process. However, through all of the destruction and mess, Taiwan’s biggest building, the Taipei 101, still stands with no harm done.
Taiwan used what’s called a “tuned mass damper, a massive 660-ton golden steel sphere, suspended by cables within the tower,” explained The Times Of India. This mass damper was used to counteract the shifting of the earthquake and keep the building standing strong.
Along with buildings and homes, many other objects around Taiwan were harmed. Local buses were crushed, motorcycles had buildings laying on them, cars were damaged, streets were torn, and much more. They also started to lose their resources such as water and electricity quickly. Caused by the destruction “nearly 80 people were trapped” under all of the debris, says Fox News.