April News Summary

Taiwan

A 7.4 Magnitude Earthquake rocked Taiwan in the morning on April 3, being the biggest earthquake Taiwan suffered in 25 years. 

Powerful aftershocks continued to hit Taiwan, with over a total of 500 as of Friday noon. This includes 2 of the aftershocks exceeding the Magnitude of 6. The death toll rose to 12 by Friday noon, with more than 1000 injuries and still hundreds of people stuck in tunnels currently and trap in mountains due to rock slide block, waiting for rescue. Several buildings in Hualien leaned after the Earthquake, and the authority immediately started the demolition process of the buildings to avoid further collapse. The Earthquake left Taiwan's east coast transport paralyzed, with railway remained as major pathway between Hualien and Taipei after many broken roads were founded. The strong Magnitude Earthquake has also profound impacts outside Taiwan, with more than 100 people in Hong Kong reported they felt minor tremors and train services in Eastern coast of mainland China disrupted at start of Ching Ming Festival.

Hong Kong 

Travel disruption continue to occur in Hong Kong MTR this week as railway cracks were found near Tsim Sha Tsui Station

Early this week, followed by a signaling fault near Yau Ma Tei Station, railway cracks were found near Tsim Sha Tsui Station and caused disruption to Kwun Tong Line Services. However, the consistent delay did not hinder MTR's decision in announcing a fare hike of 3.09% this summer.

Hong Kong 

Hong Kong people's outbound trips returned back to the level compared to pre-covid, with 1.5 million outbound trips recorded in the first 3 days of Easter Break

The outbound number was 5 times than that of inbound trips to Hong Kong during Easter. The trend may have potentially harmed the local food and beverage sector, with some industry leaders reporting to have a 30% decline of business.