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Hualien County on the east coast of Taiwan is a phenomenal, sleepy vacationer space hidden away from the island's city facilities with a well-known canyon and aquamarine waters. It additionally sits on a number of energetic faults, making it liable to earthquakes.
In accordance with the 2020 census, the county has a inhabitants of roughly 300,000, a few third of whom reside within the county seat, the coastal metropolis of Hualien. It is likely one of the least populated elements of Taiwan. Positioned about three hours by prepare from the capital, Taipei, town payments itself as the primary place on the island to be touched by the solar.
Hualien County is residence to Taroko Nationwide Park, certainly one of Taiwan's hottest scenic areas. Vacationers come to discover the Taroko Gorge, a striated marble canyon carved by the Liwu River, which cuts by means of mountains that rise steeply from the coast. Hualien metropolis is a well-liked vacation spot as a gateway to the nationwide park.
Three hikers have been trapped on a path close to the doorway to the valley after rocks fell because of the earthquake on Wednesday, in accordance with the state-owned Central Information Company. The information company stated two of them have been discovered useless. In accordance with the report, directors stated that the earthquake brought about a number of roads throughout the park to be reduce off, doubtlessly trapping hikers.
Earthquakes shake Hualien with some regularity. In 2018, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake killed 17 folks and injured tons of extra simply earlier than midnight, with its epicenter a brief distance northeast of Hualien metropolis.
In accordance with information studies on the time, lots of the victims in that earthquake have been in a 12-story constructing that tilted badly, with the primary 4 flooring largely destroyed. The next yr, the realm was rocked by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake, injuring 17 folks.
The area has the best focus of Taiwan's aboriginal inhabitants, with lots of the island's indigenous tribes calling the county residence.