Taiwan Earthquake Leaves 13 Tainan Historic Sites in Need of Repairs

Tuesday's magnitude 6.4 earthquake in the south has left 13 historic sites in Tainan in need of repairs.

Transcript

00:00Shattered plaster and piles of splintered tiles littered the ground after a magnitude

00:056.4 earthquake hit the historic city of Tainan.

00:08This collection of around 20 buildings on the city's edge, known as the Old Jiang Family

00:13Residence, is a farming village, with some sections dating back 200 years.

00:18But the main quake and the punishing aftershocks that followed threatened to make this historic

00:22complex uninhabitable.

00:27The assessment of the damage, from cracked roofs to crumbling columns, is grim.

00:48This is just one of 13 historic sites in the oldest city in Taiwan that needs urgent repairs

00:53after the earthquake.

00:54At this site, commemorating one of the bloodiest uprisings against Japanese colonial rule,

00:59the walls are warped and split with cracks, while glass windows have disintegrated.

01:04And while damage is lighter at Houbi Train Station, built in 1902, a professional assessment

01:09is still needed to make sure the structure is OK.

01:17The Culture Ministry is already drawing up plans for repairs, and promising it will fight

01:25to get the funding needed.

01:27But aftershocks, the strongest above magnitude 5.0, continue to rattle this historic corner

01:33of Taiwan, so the damage may not be over.

01:37Hank Hsu and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.