Scores still trapped in tunnels after Hualien quake

On a mission: Residents with safety headgear, backpacks and plastic bags preparing to salvage their belongings from the damaged Tongshuai Building following the earthquake in Hualien.

Rescuers worked to reach scores of people trapped in highway tunnels as engineers began a massive clear-up operation a day after the island’s biggest earthquake in a quarter of a century.

Ten people were killed and nearly 1,100 injured in Wednesday’s magnitude-7.4 quake, but strict building regulations and widespread public disaster awareness appear to have staved off a major catastrophe on the island.