Offshore Quake Shakes Taipei Buildings, Felt In HK

Buildings shook in Taipei on Thursday as a deep, 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit the northern part of Taiwan, though with no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake's epicentre was just off Taiwan's northeastern coast, at a depth of 77 km, according to the island's Central Weather Bureau. The Hong Kong Observatory reported that tremors were felt in the SAR.

Taipei residents reported shaking buildings, with the quake felt across the island.

"HUGE earthquake just now in Taiwan," wrote one Twitter user who said he was driving home from work when the quake struck. "Thought I'd blown a flat tire... turned out to be a big quake!"

"My building shook violently and I took my son and fled our home. It's deathly terrifying," wrote one social media user in Taipei.

Chen Kuo-chang, head of the Central Weather Bureau's Seismological Center, said the quake was the biggest this year.

"The earthquake was felt all over Taiwan," he said, with tremors lasting for around 30 to 40 seconds.

Recent heavy rainfall around Yilan and New Taipei cities meant that authorities should be on guard for mudslides in the surrounding mountains, Chen added.

Vice President William Lai urged calm, posting on Facebook that the government was monitoring the situation.

Metro services in the northern city of Taoyuan had been suspended, authorities said, while they carried out impact assessments.

The Taipei city government said the subway system was operating as normal with no reports of problems.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes. More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, and some Taiwanese remain scarred by a 7.3 magnitude quake that killed more than 2,000 people in 1999. (Reuters/AFP)

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