Rescue workers in Hualien County have struggled to find survivors two days after a serious earthquake hit. Their efforts have been hampered by heavy rain and aftershocks, which threaten further damage to some of the most seriously affected buildings. Attention has been focused one apartment building in the center of Hualien, where most of those still unaccounted for are registered as residents. But the rescue operation is being hampered by the fact the building is on the edge of collapse, as Tony Cheng reports.

It was called the gateway to the clouds. But on Tuesday night, the Yunmen apartment building came crashing back to earth. Today only 9 of its 12 floors are above ground and the structure leans dangerously forward. This is the center of the search and rescue operation in Hualien with most of those still unaccounted for believed to be inside. Huge metal struts have been put in place to stop the building from complete collapse while rescuers do their work. But it remains extremely dangerous. This apartment building is now leaning at a 45 degree angle which is very precarious . You can see its being propped up by these huge steel bars, and its making life very difficult for the rescue workers. Particularly with the number of aftershocks and we've seen some as large as 5.2 on the Richter scale, and every time that happens, they have to evacuate to safety.

But the rescue workers continued to head inside. More than three hundred have been drafted in to try and save any survivors and recover the bodies of those left inside. A combination of civilian and military personnel.

YEH JIUNN-RONG LOCAL OFFICIAL "Everything is in control. Our first priority is to do rescue, to rescue as many lives as possible. And the second one is to provide those people, the victims, with housing and all kinds of support." This hotel had been cleared on Wednesday with two survivors and one fatality pulled from the rubble. But the structure is fatally flawed and police were keen to keep people away in the event of a collapse. Most of the survivors are being temporarily housed in a sports stadium on the edge of town. Aid has been flowing in from all over the island and although running water has been cut to some parts of the city, most essentials are in good supply. But there is one big concern.

HSIEH ZHENHONG LOCAL RESIDENT "We are very worried about aftershocks. On the one hand many people have homes that are fine, but we're unsure about when the aftershocks will finish".

Many of the people here will have to remain until their homes can be certified as structurally sound. But the weather is not making it easy and the storm clouds promised more rain on Thursday evening. Another challenge for a city reeling from the wrath of mother nature. Tony Cheng CGTN Hualien Taiwan.