Strong earthquake hits China's Taiwan

A house is damaged by a quake that hit Shanlin Township, Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan, March 4, 2010. An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 shook Taiwan early on Thursday, injuring 11, stopping transport and causing minor damage and fires in the southern half of the island. [Xinhua]

A house is damaged by a quake that hit Shanlin Township, Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan, March 4, 2010. [Xinhua]

BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck southern Taiwan at 8:18 a.m. Beijing Time on Thursday, according to China's national seismological network.

The epicenter, at a depth of about 6.0 km, was 22.9 degrees latitude north and 120.6 degrees longitude, at the juncture of southern Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties, the network said.

Taiwan media reported cave-ins, landslides, cracks in school buildings and power cuts. Many travelers were temporarily stranded at stations due to temporary closing of high-speed railways.

Local media in Taiwan said the military was mobilized to help in quake-relief efforts.

A man who identified himself as Lin in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province, said he was on the seventh floor when he felt a tremor. He said computer panels shook furiously for a brief moment.

Local residents in Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou of Fujian Province also said they felt an intense tremor when the quake hit.

An expert with Fujian Provincial Seismological Bureau contacted by Xinhua said that the earthquake had not caused any major damage in the province.

According to Taiwan's local authorities, the quake was 6.4-magnitude on the Richter scale and its epicenter was at a depth of about 5.0 km.