An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 shook Taiwan early today, injuring 11, stopping transport and causing minor damage and fires in the southern half of the island.
Falling objects, including a tree, injured people in south Taiwan after the earthquake, said a spokesman with Taiwan's National Fire Administration disaster response centre.
The quake also set off five fires, including one at a textile factory, and caused 16 lifts to get stuck.
Services on the southern half of Taiwan's high-speed rail linking Taipei with the south were stopped pending safety checks.
The epicentre of the quake was in the mountains northeast of the city of Kaohsiung at a depth of 5km, the Central Weather Bureau said.
No major damage was reported near the epicentre, a rural area hard hit in August by a deadly typhoon.
The US Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 6.4 on the Richter scale, revised from an initial 6.5 and put the depth at 35km.
The quake was felt in the capital Taipei, where buildings shook for several minutes. Officials in the southern county of Chiayi reported some objects falling off roof tops.
One of Taiwan's worst-recorded quakes occurred in September 1999. Measuring 7.6, it killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings
Reuters