Rebuilding Lives After Taiwan's Biggest Quake in Decades
For six months, Lin Tien-tzu has been living in a small seaside shack, caring for his 92-year-old mother. The rest of his family—his wife, children and grandchildren—are scattered in temporary shelters. Their once shared home was reduced to rubble by a devastating earthquake that struck Taiwan in April.
“It only took a few seconds to destroy a lifetime of hard work,” Lin says, recalling the moments when the 7.2-magnitude quake shattered their world. The earthquake, the strongest to hit Taiwan in 25 years, left a trail of destruction in its wake. The Uranus Building where Lin’s family lived was severely damaged after the ground floor caved in, rendering it unstable and forcing its demolition. One resident lost their life, dozens were injured and over a hundred families were displaced.
The ten-story Uranus Building stood in the heart of Hualien City for nearly 40 years, home to 70 families, many of whom ran businesses on the ground floor. Now, six months after the quake, that once-bustling building is nothing more than an empty plot of land.
This scene of destruction is not unique. Across the neighborhood, through which the earthquake’s fault line ran, numerous plots of land lie vacant, the homes and businesses that once occupied them too damaged to stand. Those who lived there, like Lin and his family, have been forced to relocate, leaving behind a ghost town. For the businesses that survived, the future remains uncertain. “After the earthquake, business has plummeted,” says a shop owner in the area. “It’s hard to make ends meet. Many have already closed their doors.”
Hualien’s economy, heavily dependent on tourism, has been left in tatters. Damaged railways and roads have made access difficult, further straining the livelihoods of residents. While the local government is working to rebuild, thousands of displaced people continue to rely on charity and rent subsidies to get by.
"We started rent subsidies as soon as possible," says a government official. "We wanted to make sure everyone had a place to stay, whether it be in vacant hotels or dormitories. And in the long term, we’ll be providing permanent housing for those affected."
Plans for rebuilding are in place but the process is complex and will likely take years. Temporary housing sites, like one just blocks from where the Uranus Building once stood, are being constructed to provide shelter in the meantime. For families like Lin’s, these efforts bring a glimmer of hope. “Hopefully, it’ll be built soon and we can all get back on track,” Lin’s wife Hu Shih-ying says. “It’ll give us a chance to start over, but it also reminds us of what it’s like to have nothing.”
As the city works to recover, the scars of the earthquake remain visible. Buildings have crumbled, businesses have closed and families remain separated. Yet the people of Hualien are determined to stay. They have no plans to leave the city they call home, knowing they must be as resilient as the place itself, prepared to weather whatever comes next. While the earthquake may have knocked them down, the people of Hualien stand ready to rebuild and start anew—determined to prove that even in the face of disaster, their spirit remains unbroken.
* This AI-generated summary is based on reporting by TaiwanPlus and verified by newsroom fact checkers. Learn more about our policy here.
