Taiwan Quake, Powerful quake strikes southern Taiwan

TAIPEI: A 6.4 magnitude quake struck southern Taiwan on Thursday, with an epicentre 35 kilometres (22 miles) deep, the US Geological Survey said. No tsunami warning was immediately issued. The quake, which hit about 70 kilometres from the main southern city of Kaohsiung, was felt as far away as the capital Taipei in the north of the island.

The 6.4-magnitude quake hit about 70 kilometres (about 40 miles) from the main southern city of Kaohsiung, the US Geological Survey said, and it was felt as far away as the capital Taipei in the north of the island.

Its epicentre was in Jiahsian township in Kaohsiung county, an area still recovering from a massive typhoon that triggered floods and mudslides in August last year, killing more than 700 people.

“The building was shaking violently and I was really scared. It felt just like a typhoon lashing out,” said Chang Shu-yuan, a resident of Kaohsiung city.

It was the biggest earthquake to hit the Kaohsiung area in recent years, the weather bureau reported, and followed massive killer quakes in Chile on Saturday and Haiti in January.