Moderate quake jolts Taiwan

A 5.3-magnitude undersea earthquake hit off Taiwan on Sunday, the Seismology Centre said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

A 5.3-magnitude undersea earthquake hit off Taiwan on Sunday, the Seismology Centre said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

HT Image

The temblor hit at 2:42 pm (0642 GMT) about 14 kilometres (eight miles) west of Hungchun, a coastal town in the south, with its epicentre 34 kilometres under the sea, it said.

Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes as the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates. A 7.6-magnitude quake killed around 2,400 people in September 1999.