The quake struck at 13:15 pm (0515 GMT) with an epicenter four kilometers (2.5 miles) north of Orchid Island off Taiwan's southeastern coast. It originated some 13 kilometers underground.

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, hit in September 1999 and left some 2,400 people dead.

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