Hotels shuttered and restaurants emptied in Hualien after quake

Normally vibrant tourism industry the latest quake casualty in the Taiwan county

- Yip Wai Yee

TAIPEI - Things are unusually quiet at the steak restaurant Rourou Table in Taiwan's eastern city of Hualien.

On some days, the eatery welcomes only a single customer the entire day.

The eight-year-old restaurant is considering closing shop for good, less than three weeks after Taiwan's strongest earthquake in 25 years struck waters off the coastal Hualien county on April 3.

"Our revenue has dipped by at least 70 per cent, which isn't sustainable. We have loan repayments to make," Ms Huang Yi-jie, who manages the 40-seater restaurant, told The Sunday Times.

"We barely recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, and now this huge earthquake has happened.

Even though life has returned to normal for residents, tourists are still scared to come to Hualien." Hualien county's normally vibrant tourism industry has become the latest casualty in the wake of the 7.4-magnitude quake.

More than 1,000 people were injured due to the tremor, and 17 killed. Although the death toll is relatively low for such a powerful quake, the area has continued to be hit by at least 900 aftershocks, some strong enough to set off mobile phone alerts warning people to stay calm and seek cover.

Most parts of the county's Taroko National Park, which includes the famous Taroko Gorge, remain closed to visitors as the constant tremors threaten to trigger more landslides in the already severely damaged tourist spot.