A Taiwanese commuter rides his scooter over a fault line that cracked the road after a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck in December 2006. -- PHOTO: AP
TAIPEI - AN EARTHQUAKE with a magnitude of 5.3 struck off the east coast of Taiwan on Thursday, the central weather bureau said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The undersea tremor hit at 05.09 am, 82 kilometres east of eastern Hualien city at a depth of 18 kilometres, the bureau said.
It was followed by a 5.0 magnitude aftershock one hour later, 70 kilometres east of Hualien at a depth of 31 kilometres.
Taiwan, which lies near the junction of two tectonic plates, is regularly shaken by earthquakes. A 7.6-magnitude quake killed around 2,400 people in September 1999. -- AFP
