LA MESA, Calif. (KGTV) - A La Mesa woman is sharing her family’s harrowing account of Wednesday’s earthquake in Taiwan.
Officials say rescue teams are still trying to reach more than 700 people stranded after Wednesday's 7.4 quake.
So far, ten people have died. More than a thousand were hurt.
For Cindy Hsu, the images of the area in eastern Taiwan many of her loved ones still call home, are hard to look at.
“Sad, and worry about people under the buildings,” said Hsu.
Minutes after the quake, her brother Robin texted her, letting her know he was okay.
Robin, a Baptist pastor, was in his church office with his wife in Hualien City, when the shaking started.
“Up and down, and right and left … It’s very long. It shake for about one minute,” said Hsu.
Hsu says her brother's newly built church escaped unscathed.
That wasn't the case for the home of her niece, who lives just south of Hualien City. She was alone in her home.
“When the shaking, the ceiling fan fall down, dropped. The ceiling was damaged … Feels lucky not under the fan,” said Hsu.
Her niece also took photos of damage nearby. A battered school exterior. A church member's home missing part of its roof.
“Very scary, because never so big,” said Hsu.
Hsu, who grew up with in Hualien, says while the community is used to earthquakes, she remains extra sensitive to the threat. She was told that, as a baby, a quake caused a wardrobe to strike her cradle with her inside. She wasn't hurt.
“Every time an earthquake, I feel so nervous, even when I sleep … any little shaking, I will wake up,” said Hsu.
While the images are traumatizing, Hsu is grateful the quake didn't occur a day later, when a local holiday would have attracted a bevy of tourists.
She's also grateful for the support her Hualien is receiving.
"In Taiwan, the other cities, they try to help … I have confidence. They will recover soon, try best to recover,” said Hsu.
