Situational overview

At 23:50 (Taipei Time) on 6th February 2018, a magnitude of 6.4 earthquake occurred in Taiwan. It was centered at on the coastline near Hualien having a depth of approximately 10.6 kilometers (6.6 miles). The earthquake’s intensity was found to be VII on the Mercalli intensity scale that caused damages on a large scale. A total of 17 deaths and 285 injured were reported as a result of the disaster. The earthquake formed the largest of a sequence of events that have affected the area over a period of days, with 11 foreshocks of M 4.6 and greater, starting on 3 February with an M 4.8 earthquake and including an M 6.1 event on 4 February, within a few kilometers of the event that took place on 6 February. The Hualien Earthquake caused 4 high-rise buildings collapsed according to Hualien County Emergency Operation Center as of 9:00am on Feb 7. The Marshal Hotel's lower floors collapsed, killing two people. The twelve-story Yun Men Tsui Ti residential building, which was significantly slanted due to the collapse of several of the lower floors, also claimed 14 lives. Cranes were used to put large beams on one side of the building to prevent further tilting during the ongoing rescue efforts. Hundreds of firefighters and military personnel remained on the scene to assist with the rescue of those trapped inside damaged structures.

PCT's Disaster Relief Strategy

The Church and Society Committee coordinates PCT's disaster relief operations. The Church and Society Committee is one of the PCT's 31 program committees. The PCT has adopted “Being a Healthy Church, Practicing the Commandment of Love” as the theme for years 2008 and 2009. Based on this theme, our committee pursues the following:

1. Justice and Peace: We will continue to express our concern for the future of Taiwan and her international status. Based on our faith, we will speak on issues such as social justice and human rights, the needy and the underprivileged, ecology and environment, security for Taiwan and world peace. We will also hold conferences to reflect on these issues.

2. Emergency Assistance: We provide a helping hand whenever and wherever the need for assistance arises. We also seek for collaboration with other church organizations both at domestic and international level.

3. Community Concerns: We will encourage and assist local churches, presbyteries and districts to make plans to directly assist the needy in their community as well as train people to organize relief projects. The General Assembly, through our committee, will provide necessary financial and personnel assistance.

Based on our objectives, we developed a disaster management strategy and provide emergency response assistance during disasters. Our disaster relief strategy is dynamic and holistic in nature as it is formed by multiple relief experiences. The strategy goes through three phases that are: preparedness, emergency response and recovery.

Please have a look at the attached report.