Hotel collapses after earthquake of 6.4-magnitude rocks eastern Taiwan

A hotel in Hualien city of Taiwan collapsed after the earthquake.

A hotel on the east coast of Taiwan has collapsed after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake, the national fire agency said, with reports that several other buildings have been toppled with some people trapped.

Rescue workers search through rubble outside the Marshal Hotel in Hualien, eastern Taiwan early February 7, 2018, after a strong earthquake struck the island.(AFP)

Images on local television showed the Marshal Hotel in Hualien slanted on its side, partially crumpled into the ground.

Media reports said there were 30 people trapped inside with others crawling to safety.

The fire agency said a second hotel had also been damaged, with television images showing roads strewn with rubble and cracks in highways.

The quake hit at 23:50pm (local time) around 21 kilometres (13 miles) northeast of the port city Hualien, according to the United States Geological Survey.

It follows almost 100 smaller tremors to have hit the area in the last three days.

The quake comes almost exactly two years since a quake of the same magnitude struck the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan, killing more than 100 people.