Olivia Yang
Olivia is an editor striving to cover arts and culture along with community engagement and animal rights.
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The magnitude 6.4 earthquake that hit southern Taiwan on February 6 has seen 37 casualties so far, but residential buildings weren't the only architectures damaged.
According to the Emergency Management Information Cloud, the death toll of the southern Taiwan earthquake has reached 37 as of 11:00 am today.
►Related News: Earthquake Strikes Southern Taiwan Leaving Dozens Trapped
The 17-story Weiguan Jinlong residential building in YongKang District of Tainan City collapsed during the earthquake that hit early morning of February 6, trapping dozens of residents. So far, 35 out of the 37 casualties were pulled from the Weiguan Jinlong building, and rescue teams have saved 204 residents while 117 remain missing.
As one of the oldest cities and cultural capitals in Taiwan, Tainan houses many historic relics. In addition to residential buildings collapsing in the earthquake, according to the Tainan City Government, at least 24 out of the 187 historic relics in the city have seen damages as of February 6.
One of the most serious damages occurred at the Wind God Temple, which has a history of over 270 years. The stone bell tower of the temple collapsed during the earthquake, and experts are already drafting plans to reconstruct the tower. The temple is the only one in Taiwan that worships the Wind God and is a third-class historic monument.
Around ten other historic sites, such as the Taiwan Confucius Temple, have seen cracks in the architectures. However, tourist attractions like the Anping Old Fort (安平古堡), Fort Provintia (Chihkan Tower, 赤崁樓), Anping Tree House, Eternal Golden Fort (億載金城) and Chimei Museum have all been undamaged, and the city government says tourists are welcome to visit these sites.
Sources:
Emergency Management Information Cloud
UDN
Apple Daily
CNA
China Times