Canadian English teacher Jonathan McGill said the shaking from Taiwan鈥檚 largest earthquake in 25 years was so forceful that he thought his apartment building might collapse.
McGill, a former Ottawa resident who has been living in Hsinchu, Taiwan, for the last seven years, described the quake Wednesday as something he has never felt before, with his ceiling fan swaying about 30 centimetres off its axis.
鈥淭oday was the first time I ever thought to myself, what is the breaking point basically of a building?鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 not supposed to really do that.
鈥淥bviously, they鈥檙e built to withstand some kind of shaking. But it was going pretty bad side-to-side, and it makes you really start to wonder, is it going to get to the point where it鈥檒l fall down?鈥�
Taiwan鈥檚 Central Emergency Operations Centre said the earthquake was centred off Hualien County, about 150 kilometres south of Taipei, and reached a magnitude of 7.2, leaving at least nine dead, 946 injured and 152 stranded in its aftermath.
Local firefighters said on a Facebook post that two Canadians were among a group of 12 people stranded by rock slides on a trail in Taroko National Park, a renowned hiking destination, and rescue efforts were ongoing.
Canadians in Taiwan described scenes of chaos and violent shaking that shifted furniture and almost knocked people off their feet during the quake that struck during the Wednesday morning rush hour.
Vancouver-based community events organizer Charlie Wu said his rented 12th-floor apartment in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei shook for 鈥渨hat seemed like minutes,鈥� knocking bottles and plates out of their closed cabinets.
Wu said he could also hear the sounds of glass breaking from several other units in the building, and a number of strong after shocks knocked several items he placed back on shelves to the floor again.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like getting off the cruise ship,鈥� Wu said of his mental state after the quake. 鈥淭here鈥檚 that feeling (that) you鈥檙e not really grounded. It鈥檚 like everything is moving and you鈥檙e looking at the curtain (to see) if it鈥檚 moving or just you in your head, that you鈥檙e moving.
鈥淚 still feel the occasional (aftershock), quick and much smaller than what it was this morning. But, again, when you were on (the) 12th floor, it鈥檚 easily felt, and I don鈥檛 know if I鈥檓 going to be able to sleep well with that feeling in my head.鈥�
Tech firm employee Yvonne Chen, who splits her time between Burnaby, B.C., and Taipei, said the shaking on her 10th-floor apartment shifted a large cabinet 15 centimetres off its base, and she had to crouch to prevent herself from falling over.
Chen said the quake was mild when it started and she continued to get ready for her commute to work, until the shaking grew more powerful.
鈥淚t got to a point where I couldn鈥檛 stand, and I had to crouch down,鈥� she said in an interview in Mandarin, estimating the shaking to have lasted about a minute.
Chen said she tried to go to work afterwards, but Taipei鈥檚 transit rail systems were not operating, while her office building lost power and suffered a broken pipe, resulting in flooding on the first floor.
鈥淓ven now, sitting in a chair, I鈥檓 nervous and feeling things move all the time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 have to ask myself, am I being too sensitive? Am I imagining this?鈥�
Both Chen and Wu said the shaking was comparable to the 1999 earthquake in Taiwan that was 7.3 in magnitude, killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed about 52,000 buildings.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that any Canadians in need of aid should contact them immediately, adding that there are 5,518 registered Canadian citizens in Taiwan.
Angel Liu, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Taiwan鈥檚 de facto consulate in Vancouver, said she had a restless night after being overwhelmed with videos and images of heavy infrastructure damage on her social media feed.
鈥淭aiwan is located in (an) earthquake frequency area, so we are very experienced in dealing with this kind of natural disaster,鈥� Liu said. 鈥淏ut it is still very hard to recover in just a short time.
鈥淟et鈥檚 hope for the best there is minimum loss of lives,鈥� Liu said, crossing her fingers.
A number of Canadian leaders expressed support for Taiwan, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Columbia Premier David Eby, the latter taking to social media platform X to express his condolences.
鈥淚鈥檓 advised there is no threat to B.C.,鈥� Eby said in the post, referring to a possible tsunami. 鈥淏ut I know many with family in Taiwan are concerned for the safety of their loved ones.鈥�
Trudeau said Canada had reached out to Taiwanese officials and was ready to provide support if needed.
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