No Pinoy casualties in Taiwan quake - MECO

No Filipino was hurt in the powerful 6.4-magnitude quake that rocked Taiwan Thursday morning, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) said. MECO resident representative Antonio Basilio said they have not received any casualty reports, even as he assured that the Philippine government is closely coordinating with Taiwan officials to ensure that some 75,000 Filipinos there are safe and accounted for. "Fortunately, Taiwan has heightened preparedness for natural disasters like this and its building codes to help ensure structural integrity against earthquakes are among the world's most stringent," Basilio said. He also clarified that there were no major damage in infrastructure in Kaohsiung City except for shattered glass windows and broken ceilings. Kaohsiung City, where MECO maintains an office, is about a 45-minute car drive to Hsien, Kaohsiung County where the tremor's epicenter was traced. The quake was also felt in varying degrees in the rest of Taiwan, its government said. Shortly after the quake struck, a fire broke out at the Everest Textile Factory in southern Taiwanese city of Tainan, where at least 150 Filipino are reportedly working. No Filipino was also injured in the incident, Basilio said. "We have about 150 OFWs there [Tainan] and the initial report is that all are safe. We are coordinating with their employer to ensure that they are all adequately taken cared of," he said. An Associated Press report said 12 people were reported hurt in the earthquake. No tsunami alert was issued. - RSJ, GMANews.TV