As of Tuesday morning, the quake's death toll has climbed to 40. The earthquake, measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, struck southern Taiwan at 3:57 am Saturday.
Tainan Mayor William Lai has said that with more bodies being pulled from the wreckage than survivors, the death toll is likely to surpass 100.
While the epicenter of the quake was in the southern city of Kaohsiung, the neighboring city of Tainan was seriously affected. Seismologists attributed that to the softer ground in Tainan, which transmitted the energy of the quake to the buildings.
Taiwan's army has so far sent out over 2,000 people and 140 vehicles to help in the rescue efforts. The National Fire Agency also sent over 7,000 people, 1,700 ground vehicles, 50 rescue dogs and 4 aircraft in hopes of finding survivors.
The quake also caused a power outage which affected 12,000 households. Hundreds in the affected area were still without power on Monday. Around 400,000 households are without water, and a thousand households are reportedly without telephone service.
The Taiwan High Speed Rail resumed limited service south of Taichung on Monday.