TAIPEI - A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off Taiwan’s eastern coast on Thursday, and was followed by multiple lighter aftershocks, the island’s weather bureau said, with shaking felt in the capital Taipei.

The quake hit just after midday about 30km off the coast of Hualien County at a shallow depth of 6km.

The US Geological Survey reported a lower 5.9-magnitude reading and a depth of 12km.

The national fire agency said six hikers who were climbing Yushan, the island’s highest mountain, suffered minor injuries when they were hit by falling rocks during the quake.

The quake shook buildings in the capital Taipei, according to witnesses.

“The earthquake was felt all over Taiwan because it’s very shallow,” Mr Chen Kuo-chang, head of the weather bureau’s seismological centre, told reporters.

“There have been eight aftershocks so far and we expect more aftershocks in the next three days.”

An AFP reporter in Taipei said the shaking in the capital felt less intense than previous earthquakes this year.

A much stronger 6.9-magnitude tremor had struck Taiwan’s eastern coast in September, killing one person and bringing down a handful of buildings.

Taiwan’s subway and railway authorities both said trains were temporarily running at reduced speeds but services had not been halted.

There have been 12 quakes over 6.0 magnitude this year, according to the seismological centre, four times the average of 2.8 a year, and the second highest since 1999.

A 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 killed around 2,400 people, the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history.

More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016.

Taiwan is prone to earthquakes as it lies near the junction of two tectonic plates. Some earthquakes of 6.0 magnitude or more can prove deadly, although much depends on where the quake strikes and at what depth. AFP, REUTERS