155 Schools in Taiwan Damaged from Earthquake 全台155校因地震受損 金額達3500多萬

The strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake during the early morning of March 23 has damaged many schools. According to the Ministry of Education, 155 schools were affected to different degrees by the earthquake as of 3:00 p.m. on March 23, with losses surpassing NT$35 million. Of which 13 were in Miaoli, and the retaining wall of Touwu Elementary School was the most severely damaged. In addition, a 120-year-old historical residence in Kaohsiung was also damaged by the quake.

The retaining wall has many obvious cracks and parts of it are tilting. The school quickly posted a warning notice not to approach for safety concerns. The retaining wall on the north side of Miaoli's Towu Elementary School is suspected of being damaged by the strong earthquake in the early morning of the 23rd, and the problem is getting worse.

Hsieh Fu-chun, Principal, Touwu Elementary School, Miaoli: “It was supposed to be straight. But this side has collapsed and is leaning outwards.”

According to the Ministry of Education statistics, 155 schools in Taiwan reported damages from the strong earthquake on the 23rd, totaling more than NT$35 million. Among them, 13 were in Miaoli, and Touwu Elementary School suffered the heaviest damage. Miaoli's Education Department said that it has launched a reporting system for repairs.

Hsu Chien-nan, Deputy Director, Education Department, Miaoli County: “We have asked other schools to isolate damaged areas first for safety reasons. We will fix the damages as soon as possible after we receive funding subsidies from the central government.”

There are also reports that many schools in Kaohsiung were also affected. According to statistics from the Kaohsiung City Education Bureau, 20 schools reported damages that totaled about NT$4.6 million. The most serious is Chunghsiao Elementary School in Fengshan District. The school has already cordoned off the damaged school building. There were no safety concerns for the time being since teachers and students were assigned to other classrooms.

Tang Wei-cheng, Principal, Chunghsiao Elementary School, Kaohsiung: “We found some cracks during building inspections last year. The 323 earthquake just made these cracks bigger.”

This European style building in Kaohsiung's Zihguan District has a history of 120 years. The building was suspected of being damaged by the earthquake on the 23rd and rain in the past few days. Not only did its lintel collapse, but the building's outer walls also became a pile of rubble.

Liu Ying-kai, Chihhsi Borough Chief, Zihguan District, Kaohsiung: “We'll clear these bricks first. And then we'll talk to the owner to discuss what to do next.”

The European style building is the former residence of local businessman Liu Te-bo. It is the first two-story Baroque building in the area and has historical significance. Experts will further evaluate how to repair the building in the future. 

擋土牆有不少明顯的裂縫，部分都還有傾斜狀況，校方趕緊貼出公告，警告安全堪慮不要靠近。苗栗的頭屋國小北側的擋土牆，疑似受到23日凌晨強震影響，受損狀況越來越嚴重。

苗栗頭屋國小校長謝福鈞表示：「本來應該是要對齊，但這邊都已經塌下來，然後往外傾斜了。」

根據根據教育部統計，受到23日強震影響，截至當天下午3點，全台學校通報受損有155校，金額達到3500多萬，其中苗栗有13所，以頭屋國小受損最嚴重。縣府教育處表示，已經啟動災修通報。

苗栗縣教育處副處長徐建男說：「其他學校部分，我們已經請學校，針對他的 需要修繕的部分，先做安全隔離，等到中央經費補助之後，盡快把它修繕完畢。」

而在南部的高雄，也傳出多所學校受到波及。根據高雄市教育局統計，有20所學校通報，災損約460萬，其中以鳳山區的忠孝國小最嚴重。校方也在受損校舍外頭拉起封鎖線管制，由於師生被安排到其他教室上課，暫時沒有安全疑慮。

高雄市忠孝國小校長唐偉成表示：「去年檢視的時候就發現，有些龜裂的現象，只是323的地震，又讓這個龜裂變得比較大。」

而在高雄梓官的洋樓，原本就有120年歷史，疑似受到23日地震的影響，加上這幾天下雨，古厝也有受損。不僅門楣塌下來，外牆也成了瓦礫堆。

高雄梓官區赤西里長劉英凱指出：「我們會先把這些磚塊什麼清除掉，再跟屋主這邊，討論一下後續要怎麼做。」

由於這棟洋樓是當地商人劉德波故居，是當地第1棟的2層樓巴洛克式建築，具有歷史意義。而後續如何修復，還要經由專家進一步評估。