7.1, 7.0 Quakes Hit Taiwan, Trigger Possible Tsnuami Warning

Earthquake triggers tsunami warning
Press Association
Tuesday December 26, 2006 3:13 PM


A powerful earthquake struck off south-western Taiwan, triggering a tsunami warning on the second anniversary of the waves that killed more than 200,000 in southern Asia.

Two hours later, seismologists lifted the warning, saying the threat of destructive waves had passed.

The US Geological Survey said the quake, which hit at 8.26pm (1226 GMT), registered magnitude 7.1, while Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau measured it at 6.7. It was followed eight minutes later by an aftershock registering 7.0, the USGS said.

Two homes in the southern city of Pingtung collapsed, trapping six people, ETTV cable news reported. The quake also triggered fires and gas leaks, the station said.

No deaths were immediately reported.

Japan's Meteorological Bureau warned that a one-metre tsunami might be headed toward the eastern coast of the Philippines, but later lifted the warning.

"The expected waves did not materialise ... the danger has passed," said Hiroshi Koide of the agency's earthquake section.

Philippine police said coastal areas had been alerted.

The quake hit on the second anniversary of a massive earthquake off Indonesia that triggered a powerful tsunami in the Indian Ocean which killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

The quake was felt throughout Taiwan. It swayed buildings and knocked objects off the shelves in the capital, Taipei, in the northern part of the island.

Phone lines were cut in the southern cities of Kaohsiung and Pingtung, possibly hindering reports of damage by residents, the CTI Cable News reported. Several high-rise hotels swayed violently in Kaohsiung, it said.

The tremor was centred at sea about 13 miles south-west of Hengchun on the southern tip of Taiwan, the bureau said. Hengchun is about 260 miles south of Taipei.

Quakes frequently shake Taiwan, which is part of the Pacific's "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. Most are minor and cause little or no damage. However, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in central Taiwan in September 1999 killed more than 2,300 people.

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