On Wednesday (3 April), a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan, resulting in buildings collapsing and being uprooted.
Amid the calamity, an independent bookstore in Taipei was also not spared from the damage.
The impact caused its shelves to topple over, with books strewn all over the ground.
Source: 水準書局 為愛書人築夢 on Facebook
But all hope was not lost — within 24 hours, kind-hearted individuals restored the premises to its original state.
Shuijhun Bookstore first called out for assistance on its Facebook page at around 1.30pm on 3 April.
In its post, it noted that when staff opened the door to the store, they found that the bookshelves had collapsed.
Source: 水準書局 為愛書人築夢 on Facebook
Fortunately, the store was not open when the quake hit, and its customers or staff did not suffer any injuries.
However, it said it urgently required help to restore the premises, adding that it would provide an hourly salary of NT$183 (S$7.70) for those who came forward.
The job scope included packing, sorting, getting the shelves back in order and rearranging books.
Groups of people swiftly responded to the call for assistance, as the store was seen fully staffed with people at 5.10pm the same day.
Everyone chipped in to do their part, helping one another to clean up the damage and pack books into boxes.
Source: 水準書局 為愛書人築夢 on Facebook
In another post on Facebook, the store also requested help from anyone with experience in carpentry repairs.
As many of their bookshelves were damaged at the top, the store asked if they were able to saw off the top portions and continue to use them, as they were unable to buy new shelves immediately.
This was also swiftly taken care of, as people with carpentry experience arrived to repair the available shelves the following day.
Source: 水準書局 為愛書人築夢 on Facebook
At 11pm on 4 April, the bookstore was mostly back to its original state, which the store said was an “unbelievable” feat.
Source: 水準書局 為愛書人築夢 on Facebook
“The humanity of Taiwanese people is very touching,” the store wrote. “Some even came two days in a row.”
It also expressed gratitude to its customers, neighbours and friends for delivering buns, fruits and drinks during the packing process.
The store said it would continue its work on sorting and shelving books today.
Also read: Woman crushed to death in Taiwan earthquake after returning to rescue pet cat
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Featured image adapted from 水準書局 為愛書人築夢 on Facebook and Facebook.
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