Hualien residents went back to school and work on Wednesday, following a string of earthquakes the day before, which are believed to be aftershocks of the magnitude 7.2 earthquake on April 3. At Hwa-Gang Junior High School, the temblors left cracks on the walls and on a basketball court. School administrators plan to offer psychological support, to help students process their emotions after the quakes.

Lee En-ming
Hwa-Gang Junior High School principal
This was caused by the April 3 earthquake, but the quakes on April 23 made it worse.

Here in a school restroom, large cracks cover the walls, and broken tiles litter the floor.

Lee En-ming
Hwa-Gang Junior High School principal
We are on top of a fault zone. So whenever there is a movement, we get running cracks like these.

There’s damage even at an outdoor basketball court. Large fissures run across the surface, and a large hole renders the court unusable.

Lee En-ming
Hwa-Gang Junior High School principal
This crack was caused by the earthquakes on April 23.

After a day’s suspension, class was back in session on Wednesday. Students seemed unfazed by the recent seismic activity, but for parents, it was a different story.

Parent
Of course I’m worried, because the earthquake left heavy damage in our area. We live on Gongzheng Street. Now, I tell my kid to hurry back to our shop after class, and to avoid going to dangerous places.

Following the recent cluster of quakes, the school plans to ramp up its disaster response education.

Lee En-ming
Hwa-Gang Junior High School principal
We carry out routine disaster drills. Today, we also plan to reinforce proper disaster response concepts. It’s especially important after an earthquake. We need to remind our students routinely of these things. Besides that, one of our top priorities is helping students process any psychological distress they may have.

Following multiple earthquakes, the people of Hualien are returning to normalcy. Across the county, infrastructure repairs are underway, to restore peace of mind to the community.

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