Urban search and rescue teams are frantically combing through the aftermath of a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan.
In the Bay Area, many locals with ties to the country continue their attempts to contact friends and family in the quake zone.
"Looks like the fault actually ruptured through Hualien, and so people are literally on top of the earthquake," Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said. "A lot of the damage I've seen is in Hualien. It's also a place where they're having a lot of landslides because it's a very steep mountainous area."
Search and rescue teams are also using dogs to hunt for any signs of survivors in the toppled buildings in Hualien. Crews are also scaling elevator shafts and using miniature cameras to search for people in the city hit hardest by the quake.
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Some landslides came down onto a narrow highway connecting Hualien to the rest of the island, triggering concerns about getting resources to the area.
There is also an active effort to rescued about 77 people from tunnels in Qingshui and Jinwen that were cut off or damaged during the quake.
For those around the world concerned about loved ones in Taiwan, the overall infrastructure seems to have fared well, according to Ming-Chi Scott Lai, who serves as director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco.
"All major airports, sea ports, highways and high speed train are operating as normal," Lai said.
The White House has issued a statement of support for Taiwan following the quake and a pledge of assistance if it's needed.
But according to Lai, the government of Taiwan has not made a request for assistance from any country so far.
Communications systems are still working, along with the transportation infrastructure that remains functional.
Meanwhile, there is a group of students from Presidio Knolls in San Francisco who are studying Taiwan. One parent tells NBC Bay Area the group is safe and that their chaperones were easily able to contact parents after the quake to report the students are fine.
