Strong Quake Rocks China's TaiwanAn earthquake rocked Taiwan early on Sunday, injuring more than 10 people, but there were no immediate reports of major damage, seismologists and media said.Semiconductor makers in northern Hsinchu Science Park, one of the world's top microchip production bases and a motor of Taiwan's export economy, were unaffected, the Taiwan-based news agencies said. The Central Weather Bureau said the quake, registering 6.7 on the Richter scale, occurred at 2:23 a.m. (1823 GMT Saturday) and was felt throughout the island. It was centred 47 km (29 miles) north of the sparsely populated Jade Mountain in central Taiwan. Operations at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and United Microelectronics Corp were normal as there were no power outages at the Hsinchu Science Park -- Taiwan's Silicon Valley, local media said. A killer quake last September caused widespread power outages islandwide, disrupting production at TSMC, Taiwan's leading made-to-order foundry chipmaker. On Sunday, six aftershocks measuring between 4.3 and 5.1 on the Richter scale jolted the island in the next two hours, the weather bureau said. More than 10 people were rushed to hospital after either suffering bone fractures or being cut by broken glass when they fled their homes in Puli in the central county of Nantou, independent cable broadcaster TVBS said. Three people were injured by falling rocks near Puli, CNA said. Many residents in the area were afraid to return to their homes and wandered in the streets, TVBS said. One person jumped from his second-floor home in central Taiwan and was slightly injured, the broadcaster said. Puli, close to the epicentre of the devastating September 21 earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, suffered outages. Last year's killer quake and a series of strong aftershocks killed 2,400 people and wrecked 52,000 buildings on the island. Taiwan lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin and earthquakes occur frequently. |
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