Strong earthquake rocks southeast Taiwan, no reports of damage

The quake had a depth of 7.3 km (4.5 miles) with its epicentre in Taitung county, a sparsely populated part of the island, the Taiwan weather bureau said.

A 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Taiwan on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake hit just after 9:30 pm (1330 GMT) about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the coastal city of Taitung at 10 kilometres deep, the USGS said.

Local media initially reported no injuries or damage from the quake.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau put the magnitude slightly lower at 6.4 but said it was shallower at 7.3 kilometres.

Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes as the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates.

The island does not issue tsunami warnings unless a quake is more powerful than magnitude 7.0.

Some earthquakes of 6.0 or more can prove deadly, although much depends on where the quake strikes and at what depth.

But the USGS estimated there was a low likelihood of casualties on Saturday, though said some damage was possible.