The quake struck at 9:16 am (0116 GMT), with its epicenter 63.4 kilometers (39.3 miles) east of the eastern city of Hualien. It originated 11.7 kilometers under the seabed.

Taiwan, lying near the junction of two tectonic plates, is shaken regularly by earthquakes. The country's worst, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, struck in September 1999 and left some 2,400 people dead.