TAIPEI: The last two victims of an earthquake that hit the Taiwan tourist hotspot of Hualien three weeks ago have finally been removed from the rubble of a collapsed hotel. The Chinese couple from Beijing who were on a sightseeing trip had already been named among the 17 dead after a 6.4-magnitude quake toppled buildings in the coastal town. Of the 17 people who died, 14 perished in the Yun Tsui building. Taiwan’s worst quake in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude tremor in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people. The disaster ushered in stricter building codes but many of Taiwan’s older buildings remain perilously vulnerable to even moderate quakes.

Source: The Star February 26, 2018 03:33 UTC