Taiwan rattled by offshore earthquake, no reports of damage

TAIPEI: A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s east coast on Sunday, the island’s weather bureau said, briefly shaking buildings in the capital Taipei but with no reports of damage.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in the sea off Taiwan’s Hualien county, at a depth of 22.4 km (14 miles), the weather bureau said.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.

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More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a 7.3 magnitude quake killed more than 2,000 people in 1999.