Two earthquakes, registering magnitude 7.2 and 6.7 on the Richter Scale, struck off the southwest coast of Taiwan on Tuesday evening, causing damage and at least one death; however, despite early fears and precautionary warnings, no tsunami was triggered.
The epicenter of the first quake was just 15 kilometers from the coast of Taiwan. Local media reports that cracks appeared in many streets in the southern city of Pingtung and a major bridge was damaged.
The quake was felt throughout Taiwan. It swayed buildings and knocked objects off the shelves in Taipei, in the northern part of the island.
In Fujian Province on the Chinese mainland, which lies opposite Taiwan, a spokesperson from the local earthquake bureau, Yang Xiaoning, rules out the occurrence of a large earthquake in the region though it also felt a tremor.