HUALIEN, Taiwan – A continual stream of aftershocks is complicating recovery efforts in Hualien as the authorities began on April 5 to demolish a precariously tilting building that has become the symbol of Taiwan’s biggest earthquake in 25 years.

For instance, a strong aftershock at around 1pm caused some alarm among onlookers when it appeared to make the 10-storey Uranus building in downtown Hualien City lean even further.

Earlier, workers shored up the nearly 40-year-old structure – which comprises 79 stores and apartments – with large amounts of gravel and rocks to keep it from fully collapsing amid the constant rumbling.

In the two days since the 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the waters off Hualien county on the morning of April 3, the county has been rocked by more than 500 aftershocks, several of which were strong enough to trigger phone alerts warning the public to stay calm and seek cover.

Twelve people are known to have died from the earthquake, with more than 1,000 injured.

Taiwan’s fire department has put the number of missing at 10, including two Singaporeans.

While residents in the Uranus building were barred from re-entering their flats, others in Hualien city, on the eastern coast of Taiwan, scrambled to retrieve belongings from their damaged homes amid constant tremors.

At the Mountain And Sea View Building, a 15-storey apartment block, residents donned motorcycle helmets and construction hard hats on the morning of April 5 to enter the sealed-off building to pick up their possessions.

The local authorities granted households there permission to do so within designated 20-minute periods after assessing that the building would be able to withstand pressure from the aftershocks and stay upright.

This is despite the building’s visibly marred facade, with tiles falling off in several places, causing debris to accumulate below and a parked bicycle to be bent out of shape. 

Residents were escorted inside by staff from the local fire department, who also helped with carrying bulky items such as thick blankets and clothes to the ground floor. 

Several residents were seen lugging large electrical appliances including standing fans and flat-screen television sets.

Top-floor resident Hsiao Yo-juan, 40, told The Straits Times that she managed to retrieve several large bags of clothes for herself and her family, who have been put up at a shelter in a Buddhist temple. 

The mother of three recalled how she had been “shocked” by the severity of the April 3 earthquake, despite being “used to tremors” as a resident of Hualien, which experiences frequent earthquakes. 

“The shaking was so bad that I couldn’t even crouch down, which is what I normally do. I had to lie flat on my back,” she said. 

She added that while she is sad to see her home destroyed, she is equally heartened by the strong community spirit displayed by her neighbours.

Strangers held hands as they walked up the stairs to retrieve their belongings, she said. 

“Over the past few days, we have leaned on one another for comfort. We’re in this together,” she noted.

A total of 175 people in Hualien have been forced to stay in shelters due to the quake.

At one housed in an elementary school near Hualien train station, families chatted and laughed as they ducked in and out of tents that have become their temporary homes. About 85 people are at this shelter.

Children chased one another and constantly returned to a snack table in a gymnasium for chips and chocolate, which were mostly from charity organisations and public donations.

A middle-aged woman who wished to be known by her surname Song said she left everything behind in her apartment, whose windows had cracked in the earthquake. 

“I thought about going back to get my photo album, but I don’t think that would be safe,” she added, noting that she is rattled by the “seemingly endless” stream of aftershocks.

“It’s so hard to sleep. Every time I doze off, I’m jolted awake again by the tremors,” she said. 

Back at Uranus building, large cranes clawed through the glass windows, revealing damaged apartment interiors.

Items such as exercise equipment, books and chairs slid out of a high-floor unit and fell to the ground.

Hualien county chief Hsu Chen-wei told reporters that demolition is expected to be fully completed within two weeks “so that people can return to their normal lives”.