Moderate earthquake jolts Taiwan coast

A moderate earthquake jolted Taiwan's east coast, but it caused no damage and no tsunami warning was issued.

A moderate earthquake jolted Taiwan's east coast on Tuesday, the Central Weather Bureau said.

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No damage or injuries were reported, and no tsunami warning was issued.

The 5.4-magnitude quake was centered 85 kilometres east of the city of Hualien, the weather bureau said, and about 150 kilometres southeast of the capital of Taipei.

Quakes frequently rattle Taiwan, but most are minor and cause little or no damage.

However, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in central Taiwan in September 1999 killed more than 2,300 people, and last month a 6.7 offshore tremor south of the city of Kaohsiung severed two undersea cables and disrupted telephone and Internet service to millions of users throughout Asia.