TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA, 氣象署) reported 74 aftershocks by Wednesday (Jan. 22), with 19 registering above magnitude 4, after a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 struck Chiayi's Dapu (嘉義大埔) early yesterday and caused significant damage in the Chiayi and Tainan (台南) regions. The tremors primarily affected Tainan's Nansi (楠西) and Nanhua (南化) districts.
The Chiayi County Government (嘉義縣政府) revealed that the earthquake disrupted roads in Dapu Township (大埔鄉), Zhongpu Township (中埔鄉), and Fanlu Township (番路鄉). Crews restored road access by this morning and resolved power and water outages affecting 9,286 and 527 households, respectively. The quake caused two injuries, but both individuals have been discharged from the hospital.
In Chiayi City, the earthquake sparked fires at a residence and a printing factory, though no injuries occurred. Initial reports of wall cracks at the Jin Caishen Building (金財神大樓) were clarified as mere paint peeling. The city has cordoned off the area and contacted contractors for repairs. Additionally, the Chiayi County Police Bureau (中埔分局) and Dapu Mountain Villa (大埔山莊) suffered structural damage, prompting evacuations.
Tainan's preliminary assessment counted 53 buildings needing inspection and 29 injuries. Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) stated that structural engineers would complete damage evaluations today, with plans for reconstruction or reinforcement as necessary. He assured that compensation for injuries and property damage would follow protocols established after the Feb. 6 earthquake.
