Taiwanese actress Summer Meng felt like Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise in the Mission: Impossible film series (1996 to present) while trying to protect her daughter during the earthquake which struck Taiwan on April 3.
The 7.4-magnitude temblor – the biggest in Taiwan since a 7.6-magnitude disaster in 1999 killed more than 2,400 people – has killed 10 and injured more than 1,000 people.
Meng, 32, is married to television host Mickey Huang, 52, and they have a daughter nicknamed Little Corn, who turns two in May.
From video footage shared by Meng on social media late on April 3, Little Corn was woken up by the violent shaking while she was asleep in her cot and almost hit by falling objects.
Meng was seen breaking through the fence of the playpen in a few seconds and rushing to pick up her daughter.
The Love, Timeless (2017) actress held her daughter tightly on the floor, using one hand to stabilise herself by grabbing the cot.
“This is the first time in my memory that I’ve experienced an earthquake of such magnitude,” Meng wrote in Chinese on social media. “I had no idea what happened until I saw the footage.”
She continued: “All I could think of was to protect my daughter. I felt like I was the female version of Tom Cruise at that time.”
Meanwhile, Taiwanese actor Kai Ko shared on Instagram Stories what happened to his collection of life-size Marvel and DC characters after the tremors.
“Goodbye, everyone,” the 32-year-old wrote, as he shared a video and photos of the broken statues of characters such as Iron Man, Deadpool and Thanos on the floor.
The star best known for his breakout role in the film You Are The Apple Of My Eye (2011), said he was glad the statues of Joker and Wonder Woman remained intact.
His father, businessman Ko Yao-tsung, lamented the losses of some of his art collection – said to be worth NT$80 million (S$3.4 million) – as he shared on Facebook photos of his damaged artworks.
“I am heartbroken for my collection,” Mr Ko wrote, adding in the comments section that some of them are no longer available on the market.
Taiwanese actor Talu Wang shared photos of a cracked wall and home decorations scattered all over the floor, as he wrote on Weibo: “The house in Taipei is in a mess, but fortunately everyone is safe.”
