NEWTON, Kansas - The worst earthquake to hit Taiwan in more than a decade struck the island on Sept. 21, leaving well over 2,000 dead and several times that number injured or unaccounted for.

The quake, which measured 7.7 on the Richter scale, was centered about 90 miles southwest of the capital, Taipei. Most of the deaths occurred in and around the city of Taichung and Nantou county. Rural areas were especially hard hit.

There are 18 Mennonite churches in Taiwan - eight in Taipei, seven in Taichung and three in Hualien - with a total membership of about 1,200. The Fellowship of Mennonite Churches in Taiwan (FOMCIT) also controls the 500-bed Mennonite Christian Hospital in Hualien.

E-mail messages from Theresa Chen, secretary for FOMCIT, told of power outages, water shortages, and fires resulting from broken gas lines.

Chen wrote, "In Nantou county area, the land and mountain moved and walked. Many people lost their houses and had to stay outside. Some people, although they have a house, dared not go home. It's getting cool at night, especially [as] there is a typhoon nearby."

The FOMCIT office was finally able to make contact with all of the Taichung churches. At Lin-sen Road church, Chen reported, "Part of some brick walls fell down, and some of the drinking machine's water pipes were torn and water flew everywhere." At Hsi-tun church, she said, some blocks fell from the ceiling and lamps were smashed.

As far as FOMCIT staff has been able to determine, no church members were injured, though some had damage to their homes, possibly even loss of the building.

Sept. 24 was the starting date of Taiwan's traditional mid-autumn festival, called the Moon Festival. "It is usually a very happy time for all the people here," Chen wrote. "Family members [travel from all over] to celebrate the festival together. It's a reunion season. But it all changed this year. The 1999 Moon Festival in Taiwan is a sad one."

A Sept. 27 e-mail message from Chen reported that the evening before, there had been a meeting of the Chinese Christian relief association of Taichung. "They decided to organize all the Christians' power - including World Vision, the Presbyterian church and all the other Christian churches and organizations - to help our people in the disaster area. Over 10,000 Christians and 400 churches will get together to give their hands.

"Christians in Taiwan are not many," Chen wrote, "but people will see we are trying our best to give help."

Some of that help came from Mennonite Christian Hospital (MCH). Dr. Peter Huang, MCH superintendent, along with four other doctors and six nurses, went the day after the earthquake to Puli, a small city near the epicenter, to assist at Puli Christian Hospital.

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Melanie Zuercher is News Service editor for the General Conference Mennonite Church which includes the Commission on Overseas Mission (COM).