Immediately after the 6.4-magnitude quake struck Taiwan, about 25 km from Hualien, at 21:02 local time (13:02 UTC) on December 19, 2009, the Taiwan Earthquake Loss Estimation System (TELES), an application software integrating various inventory data and analysis modules developed by the NARL's National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), was triggered automatically. And the TELES data were instantaneously transmitted to the concerned institutions. Meanwhile the emergency response mechanism in the NARL-NCREE was activated, and the reconnaissance teams dispatched on December 20, 21, 23, and 25 to Hualien and Taitung counties to collect information on structural and geotechnical damages as well as non-structural facility damages. Schools, hospitals, residential buildings and roads were surveyed, and extents of damage documented. The reconnaissance information was collated, analyzed and made available to the public on December 30, 2009 via a conference held at the NARL-NCREE. The post-earthquake reconnaissance information is imperative to managing emergency response activities in the short term and building a safer society in the long term.