The strongest earthquake in a quarter-century has rocked Taiwan during the morning rush hour. Wednesday’s quake killed nine people, stranded dozens of workers at quarries and sent some residents scrambling out the windows of damaged buildings. The quake also injured more than 1,000. It was centered off the coast of rural, mountainous Hualien County, where some buildings leaned at severe angles, their ground floors crushed. Just over 150 kilometers away in the capital of Taipei, tiles fell from older buildings, and schools evacuated their students to sports fields, equipping them with yellow safety helmets. The numbers of people missing, trapped or stranded fluctuated frequently as authorities learned of more in trouble and worked to locate or free them.
