Wu, the proprietor of a quaint hotel in Taiwan's Hualien County, was in the midst of preparing breakfast for his guests when the shelves in his vicinity began to shake violently and the mountain behind his dwelling emitted a deafening roar.
Alarmed by the possibility of the building collapsing, he swiftly evacuated his guests to safety outdoors.
Despite the Wednesday's 7.4 magnitude tremor being the most potent in Taiwan in 25 years, Wu's residence sustained minimal damage, a fact he attributes to the island's concerted efforts to bolster its resilience against earthquakes.
"Our government conducted a comprehensive review of building codes following the 1999 earthquake, mandating the incorporation of new technologies in all new constructions to enhance their earthquake resistance," Wu explained.
When he constructed his two-story guesthouse near the entrance to Taroko Gorge, a national park renowned for its steep, marble-walled canyons, fifteen years ago, Wu had to ensure it complied with the government's earthquake-preparedness standards.
Experts contend that such measures have played a pivotal role in Taiwan's ability to avert significant casualties in earthquakes like the recent one.
Hualien, situated just 11 miles from the epicenter, appeared remarkably tranquil the day following the tremor. Businesses, eateries, and roadside stalls had resumed operations, and train services were back on schedule.
Although the quake caused damage, including a 10-story building leaning precariously in the city center, emergency crews promptly initiated repairs and demolished structurally compromised buildings. However, the city, home to 100,000 residents, emerged largely unscathed.
Taiwan's seismologists described the recent tremor as having the energy equivalent of 32 atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima.
Nevertheless, the number of casualties was markedly lower than in the 1999 earthquake, with authorities reporting ten fatalities, just over 1,000 injuries, and two dozen individuals still unaccounted for as of Thursday.
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The recent quake primarily struck Taiwan's rural east coast, where most of the devastation occurred in remote areas of Hualien County.
The majority of the victims perished outdoors as a result of falling rocks or landslides.
In contrast, the island's more densely populated west experienced less damage due to its urbanization and preparedness efforts.
Taiwan's drive for preparedness was catalyzed by the lessons gleaned from the 1999 quake, which exposed corruption in the construction industry, lax building regulations, and inadequate rescue operations.
Since then, the government has implemented stricter building codes, enhanced disaster management laws, and undertaken extensive retrofitting and reconstruction of public buildings.
Hualien's mayor credited the city's relatively low death toll to its residents' familiarity with earthquakes and the advanced preparation measures in place.
He underscored the importance of education and drills in preparing for such calamities, noting that the city's denizens had been well-versed in the necessary response measures since childhood.