Families in Taiwan quake epicentre pick up the pieces of their lives

Residents salvage their belongings from the damaged Tongshuai building following the April 3 earthquake that hit Taiwan. - AFP

HUALIEN: Residents wearing hard hats and carrying large backpacks stood outside a building Friday (April 5) with a crumbling facade in Hualien, the epicentre of Taiwan's biggest earthquake in 25 years, waiting to be allowed in to collect their belongings.

"You have 17 minutes -- now you can go up!" said an announcer with a loudspeaker, as a small group hurried into Tongshuai building, which was declared "dangerous and uninhabitable".