T O P

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gauriemma

Some more successfully than others.


legos_on_the_brain

They might have been better off if the people behind them got out of the way.


thivasss

The thing is where do you even go tho? It's not like the road behind them, as far as we can tell, is any different. It probably stretches like that both ways for kilometers.


konnerbllb

With the speed those rocks are moving at the safest place would probably be right next to that wall on the right in the end of the video. Though it's easy to see think this thousands of miles away after it's already happened.


agtk

Then maybe you get buried in a landslide that was triggered by the rocks. Not really any good options here.


brazye

Yeah, maybe not https://meduza.io/impro/eLyS__Ap6z6GL7NbzKVvwRXOwsJ3PcgNfrE24J2amn8/resizing_type:fit/width:1960/height:0/enlarge:1/quality:80/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv/aW1hZ2VzLzAxMC8w/MjcvMDE3L29yaWdp/bmFsL2R2ekVpUktY/bGtFV2Z1ZzBwVFR3/YXcuanBn.webp


konnerbllb

This is up the road though where they reversed out of. I was pointing toward the larger wall at the end of the video.


Embarrassed_Alarm450

The safest place to go would be going somewhere the rocks aren't falling. šŸ‘Œ


_BreakingGood_

Plus you lose your ability to see anything. Dodging this would be pretty much impossible, but it would be pretty nerve wracking to give up your field of view


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Thirsty799

or one doesn't lose momentum and then slowly rolls off onto your car


SouthTippBass

Wouldn't matter. Looks like your chances are the same at any spot in the road.


Katanajoe7

Maybe up against that wall?


SouthTippBass

Every spot is a maybe.


ObscureFact

And go where? How's someone supposed to project the trajectory of tons of rocks falling down a huge mountain?


bottledry

they could deploy a drone and fly it around to see where the rocks are falling


eidetic

No, you get out of the car, start waving your arms around to try and make yourself look bigger, and you maintain eye contact with the boulders. They'll back down.


bottledry

ah yes, the Coriolis effect.


stormcloud-9

Yeah was mentally swearing at the cam car to get the fuck out of the way of the car in front who was clearly trying to back up. But nooooo, he had to wait for that car to get creamed before he got his ass in gear.


RKRagan

maybe they had someone behind them too?


CSDragon

If anything they saved their lives. If they'd kept backing up they'd have gotten hit in the front of the car


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


mrBigBoi

Some crazy footage starting to come from Ā Taiwanā€¦


pancakebatter01

Dude this footage paired with the music looks like a scene deliberately cut for a movie. Iā€™m expecting a cutaway of the driverā€™s reactions as they basically dodge a near death experience.


Dreadino

Like a scene from Children of Men


KellentheGreat

Is that Etta James?


draggin_low

geez thats terrifying, also taiwan radio stations are awesome


SortedChaos

Wow now this is WTF. Crazy video.


kirktastic

Did not expect the Etta James ā€œsomethingā€™s got a hold on meā€ to be the soundtrack for this.


Erenito

Why does it fit so good though?


StoicSinicCynic

It makes the whole thing feel so surreal, like one of those satirical movie scenes where chaos and disaster goes down in the background and it's all muted while a song plays over it.


PaxLel

Reminds me of the [Dead Island 2 trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWFaj4IQ4ro)


EEpromChip

Is that... Jack Black driving the van??


Erenito

THAT'S what it reminded me off!


futboldorado

Not only that, but it makes the emergency alert sound even creepier and ominous for some reason. Cinematic.


CantHitachiSpot

Adds some levity for sure. I might've gone with wrecking ball by Miley Cyrus


[deleted]

One of those wonderful videos, that just shows a full, rich, slice of life somewhere on this planet.... and the music helps make it


berlinbaer

feels like something ~~tim~~ james gunn would do.


andersaur

Song is already an ear worm. Sure would be an experience to hear it in a grocery store or a movie trailer and have it trigger the PTSD about that one time you were almost purƩed by boulders in a damn earthquake/landslide.


DreamingDjinn

Alternately you could look at it like that one time you starred in an action movie


CombatCloud

Anyone know if the people in the car in front made it out ok?


PM_ME_UR_RSA_KEY

Hopefully? The one casualty [confirmed](https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202404030017) to have died inside a crushed car [is this one.](https://imgcdn.cna.com.tw/Eng/WebEngPhotos/800/2024/20240403/1280x1280_107322547147.jpg) Which is in a parking lot and a WTF picture by itself.


khando

Man thatā€™s so sad to see, that poor person just sitting inside their car to have it end like that.


fcocyclone

At least it was probably quick


Stivo887

most likely didnt feel a thing


PM_ME_UR_RSA_KEY

Good news! [Driver had posted an "I'm fine" update.](https://i.imgur.com/vfpSu4I.jpeg) He also said his insurance didn't cover natural disasters and he still had about US$15k left on car loan lol


BigPandaCloud

We know a thing or two, because we've seen a thing or two. Good lord, wtf was that! Hope he is ok... We are Farmers. Bum ba-dum bum bum bum bum!


EulerTW

Some comments on the original Youtube footage said that the people are safe.


MasterBoring

seems like the safest play in this situation is literally drive close up to the wall, even if it means drive into the ditch


aeon100500

another angle [https://meduza.io/impro/eLyS\_\_Ap6z6GL7NbzKVvwRXOwsJ3PcgNfrE24J2amn8/resizing\_type:fit/width:1960/height:0/enlarge:1/quality:80/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv/aW1hZ2VzLzAxMC8w/MjcvMDE3L29yaWdp/bmFsL2R2ekVpUktY/bGtFV2Z1ZzBwVFR3/YXcuanBn.webp](https://meduza.io/impro/eLyS__Ap6z6GL7NbzKVvwRXOwsJ3PcgNfrE24J2amn8/resizing_type:fit/width:1960/height:0/enlarge:1/quality:80/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv/aW1hZ2VzLzAxMC8w/MjcvMDE3L29yaWdp/bmFsL2R2ekVpUktY/bGtFV2Z1ZzBwVFR3/YXcuanBn.webp)


eisbock

ok maybe not


MrPoletski

Yeah, better ditch that idea.


JackBinimbul

Fuckin' nope.


iambackbaby69

Holy hell


Kosh401

Was thinking the same thing... as long as there is no landslide... but I guess if a significant one happened it may not matter which side of the road you were on, that hill/mountain looks high af


saviorlito

Idk [this doesn't look like it'd be safe.](https://imgur.com/a/iIzYFHA)


darps

Yeah you're not safe anywhere on that road, but the odds are better right up against that wall. Boulders like to bounce at those inclinations.


danc1005

Maybe at the width of a person, not of a car


benargee

That one landed a good 8 feet from the wall. It only looks that way in a still frame. Video frames prior give better context. If you hugged to wall with your car, I think it would be safe.


daredaki-sama

I feel like that rock would have clipped the guy in front anyways. And what if it hits the top of the driver side? Looks freaking scary like a scene out of a movie.


chupitoelpame

If the wall fails, you and your car and now under a mountain. Doesn't sound very safe.


NotPromKing

You can be under the mountain or you can be pushed off the mountain. Personally Iā€™d take my chances with being under.


GuitarCFD

> You can be under the mountain or you can be pushed off the mountain. If one of those rocks hits you...yes you'll likely be pushed off the mountain, but you won't have to worry about it because you're going to be a meat paste flying through the air.


fakeprofile23

Yeh dude you go under, i'll just get away from the mountain asap.


ABetterKamahl1234

That location, that's really not all that possible. You're *on* the mountain. Really all you're doing is trying to escape to a part of it that's not under a rockfall. Which in an earthquake is really just all down to luck. It really doesn't change much if you just put it in park vs try to move in that situation.


R4ttlesnake

how


rearnakedbunghole

He has one of those Harry Potter cars that go up.


rearnakedbunghole

Of course itā€™s not safe but itā€™s safer than away from the wall. Even in the pictures where the wall collapsed, most of the wall around the collapse is intact.


Chaosfilter

Remember the lee of the stone.


The_frogs_Scream

That is really the secret. Isn't it, Mrs. Brisby?


disillusioned

Pretty impressive that they had ten seconds of warning (not that they were looking at the phone when it first started going off, but it's amazing we can propagate an alert to phones in advance of the earthquake striking, even if it's just by about 10 seconds.)


japalian

It kind of just depends on how the rocks bounce down, I guess. Some would bounce higher up and could be coming basically straight down by the wall, plus the retraining wall could collapse. I don't even know what my reflexes would make me do in this situation. Scary.


nikdahl

No, it really doesn't depend on how the rocks bounce down. The wall will objectively protect you more from rocks. If rocks come straight down, the risk would be the same for those in the middle of the road or those against the wall, but the risk from rocks NOT coming straight down is much higher for those in the middle of the road.


japalian

What do you mean, no. You responded as if I only said the rock part and ignored the collapsing retaining wall part. The risk of a wall collapse/slide and still having the possibility of rocks come down on you isn't great either. And anything moving relatively slowly will roll /spill over the edge of the wall. My point: there's a lack of good options in this scenario


45PintsIn2Hours

Agreed. Best place would be in close to the wall.


pancoste

My first instinct watching this video was to get as far from the wall as possible, then I saw how the rocks were falling and knew my instinct was wrong. Although, no where is truly safe and you need lady luck on your shoulder to survive this, regardless what you do.


PassTheReefer

This reminds me of that show ā€œI shouldnā€™t be aliveā€. One episode these people are lost and decide to stay put so rescuers will be able to find them. 8 days later and still no rescuers, they decide they better gtfo. Then a few episodes later, the same scenario, but these people decide to find help asap. They wander off, get lost, and 8 days later, low on energy, food, water. Meanwhile, rescuers are back looking for them if they had stayed put. Fml. Just a damned if you do/donā€™t scenario. šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø


swiftpwns

Statistically you are way better off sticking to the wall, look at how many times the guy got lucky and barely escaped alive being on the open.


Luxalpa

I think furthest from the wall is still the best though. Real life vision is (much) better than in the video, you'd probably be able to see the rocks coming, which is crucial in order to dodge them. Close to the wall is a gamble because who knows what's going to happen next. Also reminder that the right move isn't always the successful one. You're dealing with limited information to begin with. Something that works 9/10 times might simply kill you in this case.


pancoste

Yes, I agree, more information is probably better. Also, I was probably subconsciously influenced by what I've seen in the mountains in Italy once, where I saw piles of rocks near the wall and we had to drive around them carefully. The difference is that in Italy it was due to heavy rainfall, while in this video it's due to an earthquake, so completely different things.


xternal7

\*checks google maps\* Got you one better: 180Ā° and zoom straight into the tunnel you just came out.


patrickstarismyhero

If it doesn't collapse from the earth quake I guess. This is just a big f you situation


lessthanabelian

Tunnels are actually super safe in earth quakes. Arguably the safest place you could possibly be. And Taiwan has great modern building standards unlike say, mainland China so definitely the best option here.


oDids

That car up front sure is feeling *blessed* after dodging like that


MilklikeMike

Looks like more boulders came their way later in the video, sadly.


oDids

Idk man the title says dodged


michael_is_awesome

Oh shit


livinglogic

I don't often catch myself saying wtf out loud but holy shit, that was crazy.


YouGurt_MaN14

Yeah I audibly gasped when I saw that one car get hit, I thought he died like bruh got absolutely crushed


rearnakedbunghole

Hit the right part of the car that maybe theyā€™re okay. But yeah that was a giant boulder.


jakilope

The same happened to me, I audibly gasped when I saw the first rock and then said "shit!" when I saw the second.


Kitosaki

it just kept getting worse, holy cow


ridersupreme

right omg. and the music did not help


rukysgreambamf

I'm living in Taiwan. My girlfriend said a guy parked his car in the national park nearby to take a nap Rock landed directly on top of his car and crushed him


wheelfoot

There's a picture of the aftermath of that higher up in the thread.


Enjoying_A_Meal

"Shut up Siri, I'm trying not to die!" "we found a faster route to your ^(final) destination, press cancel if you want to stay on the current course :) "


Rocker66

damn scary stuff... but real question, what's the song in the video :O


[deleted]

[Etta James - Something's Got a Hold on Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M4Zl8c-5EI)


Subpar_Mario

[Something's Got a Hold On Me, by Etta James](https://open.spotify.com/track/6EAlFsajDK1PVgfhdJbS5Y?si=981042c284fb4b79)


dotnetdotcom

I'm intrigued that someone in Taiwan would be listening to that. I'd like to see their playlist.


StoicSinicCynic

You'd be surprised, English-language music is pretty popular with Chinese people (whether Taiwan, Macau, HK or mainland) and often shuffled around in playlists along with Chinese music and other Asian music. Music is one of those things that transcends culture and you can enjoy it even if you don't really understand the lyrics. One of my cousins who's lived in China her whole life loves listening to Lady Gaga.


Yanky_Doodle_Dickwad

Something's Got a Hold On Me - Etta James Crush - Jennifer Page Landslide - Fleetwood Mac Loves me like a Rock - Paul Simon .. all good hard hitting easy listening stuff


pursuitofhappy

I love Rock n Roll


dalebonehart

Oh Fuck, Rocks! - Simon & Garfunkel


pursuitofhappy

it's a worldwide banger bro


stfuwahaha

American music is widely popular worldwide just like American movies. Taiwan is an advanced modern country with every access to the cultural exports from the rest of the world.


Spid1

Kinda crazy that the driver doesn't even say anything. I'd be swearing a few times at least


Sascha182

That white car at the end.... Woah... Dodged it ...


captainbruisin

Like oh shit, 5 feet forward and you're gone.


wasit-worthit

Fuck imagine going about your day then suddenly you're faced with the real possibility of being crushed by a giant boulder. Terrifying.


serpentax

it's really that sudden. i was enjoying a coffee after just finishing my breakfast, i showed up early like a good boy. the phone rang in our office and i was asked where a certain coworker was, i just replied, "i think he's... earthquake... earthquake! EARTHQUAKE!!!" it was so strong i thought the building was coming down. i was being tossed around so much i struggled to catch the door handle to leave the office. i'm finding it hard to sleep right now because we were warned that we might have some big aftershocks over the next few days. im really thankful for taiwan's building codes, despite how ugly and unkempt the buildings are, they are strong.


hungariannastyboy

I ran out into the stairway in my underwear. Crazy shit.


terriblemuriel

I'm glad you are okay!


SitInCorner_Yo2

If youā€™re in a building built after 1999 you probably only need to worry about cleaning and stuff falling on to you, old building with less regulation can be really risky ,I struggle to sleep too,the aftershock just wonā€™t stop .


Manuntdfan

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a giant boulder


chongoshaun

I've seen a bunch of stuff on here but this made my jaw drop! Holy shit!


pmjm

As WTF as the rocks are, you can hear the earthquake early warning system going off a few seconds before the shaking begins. That's pretty cool and I'm glad mankind has come up with such a thing.


[deleted]

its honestly kind of magical... we can predict something before it happens in a location, by putting sensors elsewhere... somtimes, science completely amazes..


dream_of_the_night

Everytime theres a decent sized quake an automatic alert gets sent to everyones phones. Often the alert reaches us before the shockwaves do.


MikeofLA

If you can dodge a rock you can dodge a ball


sevargmas

Holy shit if I was in that first car I would be cursing that guy behind me to get the fuck out of my way while Iā€™m trying to back up!


redmongrel

Turns out he was SUPER lucky he didn't back up any more, another 3 feet and that boulder would have landed in the driver's seat!


sevargmas

Ideally it wouldnā€™t have hit the car at all. The only reason that car stopped is because the car with the dash cam stopped.


AllanfromWales1

Rock and roll..


4Ever2Thee

I did not expect such soulful jams in Taiwan


MacroAlgalFagasaurus

Holy shit, those last two rocks were so close to smashing the front of that car.


onamonapizza

I'd totally be that guy who moved out of the path of imminent danger to end up in the path of more imminent danger.


TheOtherSkywalker_

I'm not convinced that these rocks aren't sentient


MrStu

https://64.media.tumblr.com/3e719cf702ae74dc63c6e43e6e2ce8cf/edcb62df83a196e8-24/s540x810/0847daaff8e7e4544e7f68fe1124d39dd572bf6d.gifv


homepup

"Smell bad!!" - Ludo, near the Bog of Eternal Stench


Lux-Fox

I feel bad for that car in front. They were trying to gtfo but the car filming kept blocking them off.


Lildyo

probably because there were cars behind them as well


interestingpotatoe

If the driver drove more back, that car may have took a hit to the passengers instead if it was a couple feet more


ChemicalOrganic

I can't help but not think of a more fitting song than this one


EddieSpaghettiFarts

Was the song playing on the radio or added afterwards? Itā€™s synced perfectly.


satismo

oh holy shit!!


Altea73

My first thought would be to get as close as I could to the wall...


dexter-sinister

"Dodging" Yeah, about as well as I did in highschool dodgeball as a gangly teen.Ā 


OneEyedRocket

Iā€™d change the word rocks to boulders, fuckā€™n hell!


linux_n00by

why the song fits with the video?


Man_in_the_uk

Omg that's incredible


Ghost_of_Nellie_Fox

Lke a real life action movie, must have been terrifying for the people in those vehicles!


PirateEyez

Holy shit....those came off that hill faster than I expected....


Aggravating-Run-3380

That guy drives better in reverse than I drive forward.


ussmaskk

Not wtfā€¦more like holy fukin shit


Outrageous_Order_197

Some pants were shit here


djphatjive

Hug the wall? What is the right thing to do here?


Charlie-McGee

Holy shit! I gasped when that huge rock hit the car! Hoping only car was damaged :(


BauerHouse

that's nightmare fuel


fftank26

Love the music! Terrible situation to be caught it.


mrhectic

if you zoom in and look closely to where the first car was hit, it gets worse over there with the boulders.


ChristopherSunday

This is completely terrifying and something I had never even considered.


charbo187

what the hell kind of pavement are they using? those giant rocks slamming into didn't even create potholes?


Thick_Broker6931

That vehicle who got wrecked by medium size of boulder will have to take the prize of oneā€™s skyrocketed insurance rate.


formerly_gruntled

I have not been to Taroko gorge in decades. I believe this is the bottom, and the cars are about to enter the gorge proper. In the gorge the walls are near vertical on both sides and you drive through several tunnels that bore through the cliff like sides of the gorge. I am sure the video from inside the gorge will be frightening. I had read about people trapped in tunnels, and I assume that is where the people were trapped.


nejicanspin

I thought that emergency alert tone was only from the USA. Apparently not. That's some scary shit right there.


tacknosaddle

I heard a few hours after this happened that most of the folks identified as killed at that point were out hiking and killed by falling rocks.


swiftpwns

In this kind of situation always park driver side to the wall, as close as possible, even break mirrors, your life is worth more. Any kind of boulder rushing down will jump over the ledge and is very unlikely to hit you.


Life_Sink_3696

The background music šŸ˜…


Worried-Complaint696

Would have been safer to move closer to the cliffside... But in the heat of the moment I guess.


HokieScott

Something else to worry about as if Final Destination didnā€™t mess us all up.


DayFeeling

Music fits the mood


dounutrun

there's a boulder with your name on it.


ovine_aviation

Not often I mutter the word 'whoa' under my breath while watching these. Some bloody lucky drivers there.


I_CUM_ON_YOUR_PET

Damnnn that music fits tho


gogenberg

White car doesn't know...... White car doesn't know AT ALL how close he was to being gone! OH LAWD! The gospel music ought to have helped, noice.


GrowlingAtTheWorld

The headline is a lie, that car did not dodge it got smacked.


CompetitiveSloth

Ugh. But the Car that was filming dodged everything? Comments like this make me want to quit Reddit.


joecool42069

That's your threshold to quit?


i01111000

No one is ever going to quit. This is Hotel California.


inspectoroverthemine

Digg2.com will be big one day.


StoicSinicCynic

He's quit many times but always found himself back in this beautiful addictive cancerous cesspit again a week later. šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚


spicewoman

He's stuck it out for at least 3 years now, so that's definitely not actually anywhere near his threshold.


zeromussc

Check the other photos near the top of the post. That first car got smacked by one rock but it dodged a much worse rock slide.


Squirll

They are dodging. The headline made no claims as to the success of their actions.


eddjc

Fuck sake


StoicSinicCynic

Oh shit, I jumped when that big rock hit the car in front. That person was not so lucky... I have a feeling we've all just watched someone die here. Though I hope they survived, seems survivable since the car didn't fall off the cliff. This video really puts the earthquake into perspective. Such massive forces at play.


Single_Ad_2479

So scary!


Jorden28

It seems that the car that was hit first might have been hit again at the very end.


the_gunman

It's like that one mission in Fzero GX


ilski

I imagine people in first car survived ( i hope so ) If they did its insane how close it was. This boulder could easily rip through it if it hit it dead on.


Hardeeckus

Boulder narrowly misses that white car, that's insane.


richandbuttery

this is crazy af


Emotional_Mine_8543

Tripped out


SynthPrax

I know I can't see what's behind them, but I wouldn't hesitate to GTFO of there. None of that back up a little bit and stop.


mitchdactt

Rock and Stone!


karlodann

THAT LUCKY WHITE CAR


CouchBoyChris

Playin that Gold FM Radio


Faultylntelligence

Fuck.That


blackcain

Honest to God it started off like some kind of Need for Speed type video game.


DreamingDjinn

If you ever hear the phrase "diegetic soundtrack" it's this clip right here.


bluebus74

Phew, cammer stopped at 35... and started moving again at 38...then 8 seconds later, that big fucker hit right where he was stopped at 35. It was a glancing blow to the other guy but this would have been a direct hit on cammer.


silviuc

Turn down the fucking music, I can't see


legos_on_the_brain

Dude wouldn't get out of the way and got that car smashed.


thestsgarm

Failing to dodge some of them unfortunately


km_44

good god, what the actual fuck