The temblor struck at 8:02 am (0002 GMT) with an epicenter 17.9 kilometers (10.7 miles) southeast of the eastern coastal town of Suao, the Seismology Center said.

The quake originated 20.7 kilometers below sea level, it added.

Taiwan, lying near the junction of two tectonic plates, is prone to earthquakes. The island suffered its worst quake in a century when a tremor measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck central Taiwan on September 21, 1999 leaving 2,400 people dead.

TERRA.WIRE