The quake struck at 06:41 am (2241 GMT Tuesday), with its epicenter 27.8 kilometers (17.2 miles) northeast of the coastal town of Suao. It originated 64.3 kilometers below the seabed.

The tremor was felt in the north of the island, seismologists said, adding no serious damage was expected.

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 leaving some 2,400 people dead.

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