Taiwan rattled by 5.3-magnitude quake, no immediate reports of damage

TAIPEI - A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan’s sparsely populated east coast county of Hualien on Sept 21, the island’s weather administration said, with no immediate reports of damage.

The quake shook buildings in the capital, Taipei. It had a depth of 17km, the weather administration said.

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

In April, Hualien was hit by the biggest earthquake to affect Taiwan in at least 25 years. Nine people were killed and more than 900 injured, and there have been thousands of aftershocks since.

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.