‘The whole building was shaking’: Pacific research group endure Taiwan earthquake

Aftershocks and rescue efforts continue in Taiwan, while a group of Pacific ocean scientists prepare to head home.

Ten people in the city of Hualien County are dead and more than a thousand injured after a 7.4 earthquake hit the island on Wednesday.

Marine biologist Teina Rongo says he felt the earthquake from the fourth floor of his hotel in Taipei.

“I was in my hotel, it was in the morning, and I just woke up to the shake.

“The whole building was shaking and the room was just rattling and it was scary.

“We were on the fourth floor and the building is so wide, so I didn’t think of running because I thought it wouldn’t last that long and it just slowly picked up.

“There was all the beeping and all the alarms going off and sirens, and the power went off.”

Rongo was in the capital city’s Nangnang District, almost three hundred kilometres away from the epicentre, but the shaking reminded him of when he lived in Guam.

“This is probably the worst one I’ve been through, it was maybe a minute, then the aftershock tremors lasted maybe two hours.”

Rongo was with a group of researchers from the Cook Islands, New Zealand and Tahiti, who have been conducting a workshop on marine protected zones. They all went outside and sheltered under a tree.

“Everyone was shaken, so we were outside looking at the power poles move with the aftershocks.

“No one wanted to go anywhere else, we stayed as far away as we could from the buildings, because we’re in a very populated area of the city.”

The group arrives home this weekend, but Rongo says it’s been an unsettling experience.

“I couldn’t sleep. Every little movement, I was ready to run outside. I’ve already planned my route of escape, so that’s how we’re living today. Hopefully we don’t feel another earthquake before we leave.”

Amis youth (left) sharing his knowledge of the ocean in Taiwan's Nangnang District. Photo/Supplied

Reinforcing connections

The group of researchers have been in Taiwan for ten days, working with the Amis, the largest indigenous group in Tawian, sharing knowledge on setting up marine protected areas.

Rongo says we have a special connection to the area.

“Part of the reason why we're so interested to come here is because this is where our ancestors come from, and so, it's really reconnecting for us as well, not just the Cook Islands, but including New Zealand.

“This is where the Austronesian people come from, where Polynesians came from as well, so about 5,000 years ago we left this place, so it was good for us to see this place and connect with the people and the land.”

Ngamaru Ariki from Atiu (centre) with an indigenous group of Amis women in Taiwan. Photo/Supplied