Sept. 17 (UPI) — A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocked southeastern Taiwan Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed.
The quake hit at 9:41 a.m. EDT and local media had not reported any deaths as of mid-morning Saturday.
The government agency Geoscience Australia measured the quake with a magnitude of 6.6.
The epicenter was located around 59.6 miles east of Yujing, a rural district in eastern Tainan, Taiwan, according to the USGS.
Taitung and Hualien counties felt the largest effects, while Kaohsiung and its 2.7 million inhabitants was the most-affected city. The city’s metro system was closed temporarily, with five aftershocks reported. Photos showed objects falling from store shelves from severe shaking of buildings.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau uses a seismic intensity scale ranging from 1 to 7. Saturday’s earthquake reached 6 and 6+ in some areas.
The capital of Taipei felt a 2 on the intensity scale. Many coastal areas experienced between 3 and 4 on the scale.
