TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A strong earthquake in the early hours of Tuesday, April 23, has left the Hotel Fouquet in Hualien City at risk of collapse. Engineers are currently working to stabilize the structure with fill and support operations, with preliminary estimates suggesting the process will take around two weeks.
Hualien Construction Department Director Teng Tzu-yu stated that the hotel is currently leaning due to continuous aftershocks. Monitoring equipment will be set up to observe the situation, and fill and steel support operations will be carried out today.
Teng also noted that surrounding public facilities, such as traffic signals and lamp posts, will need to be removed and power cut off before demolition can begin. The demolition work is expected to last two weeks, with measures being taken to protect neighboring businesses. Preliminary orders have already been issued for nearby businesses to evacuate.
In addition, the Tongshuai Building, which was marked for demolition after a strong earthquake on April 3, has also shown signs of leaning. The building, one of several earmarked for demolition by the county government, has been cordoned off and has further tilted due to today's earthquake.
Teng stated that the Hotel Fouquet and the Tongshuai Building are not far apart, and ideally, work would be carried out on both sites simultaneously, with equipment being dispatched to assist.
