A full two days later, central Taiwan, especially in Nantou County where the epicenter was, is still in serious disarray. Due to the more than 2,000 recorded aftershocks of the 7.6 earthquake, four being powerful earthquakes in their own right with magnitudes 6.0 and above, many people are afraid to return to their homes and instead spend nights in parks or other public places already largely overcrowded with the newly-homeless that number more than 100,000. Even more disturbingly, some people return to their leaning, fragile apartment buildings, which have no water, phones or electricity, simply because they have nowhere else to go. A rapidly rising death toll hit more than 2,100 Thursday morning while the still trapped and missing lies at 2,626 in more than 8,000 collapsed buildings. Dead corpses lie lined up in the street, with nowhere else to put them, and the mayor of Taichung, the major city of central Taiwan, has appealed for ice and makeshift body bags to store them.
Diseases are surely soon to abound, with the poor sanitation due to the shortage of clean water.
In addition, blankets, tents, baby formula, and food is desperately needed for all the people who lost their homes in the earthquake. Two weeks ago, Taipei American School, the international school that I attend in Taiwan, held a huge carwash as part of the world effort to help Turkey after its massive quake. Now, we must appeal to the world to join us in helping the Taiwanese who are suffering so greatly. As a proud Silicon Valley native, I know how charitable and kind Americans can be when they believe in something, and this is truly a worthy cause. If you can spare it, I highly encourage you to send a charitable donation to help the earthquake victims that desperately need your help.