TILTING BUILDINGS
In Hualien’s main city, workers poured concrete at the base of the glass-fronted Uranus building – so badly damaged it now tilts at a 45-degree angle.
It has now become a symbol of the quake but, for 59-year-old Chen Hsiu-ying, it was her home.
Sheltering at the elementary school, she told AFP she was on her way home from work when the earthquake occurred.
“If I had gone back earlier, I would have been inside,” the carpenter said.
She also said she was shocked to see the road shaking and the food vendors on the streets shuddering during the quake.
“My hands are still shaking, they still haven’t recovered. This was the first time I experienced this,” Chen said, adding that she was anxious to get her things from the skewed building.
“I still have my belongings in there, such as a photo of my mother,” she said.
More than a dozen people had opted to return home by morning, although many – especially those with children – stayed on in the tents.
Hendri said he was hoping Thursday would be the family’s last day at the shelter.
“I will go by it to take a look and talk to the staff there and see if it’s safe to go upstairs,” he said.
“Yesterday they said it wasn’t safe.”
