Earthquake rocks Taiwan; fire and other damage reported (1st Lead)

Mar 4, 2010, 7:56 GMT

Taipei - A magnitude-6.4 earthquake rocked southern Taiwan Thursday, causing a fire at a factory, the collapse of several houses and the injury of at least one person, seismologists and police said.

The quake, centred in the county of Kaohsiung, 400 kilometres south of Taipei, struck at a depth of 5 kilometres at 8:18 am (0018 GMT), officials of the Central Weather Bureau's earthquake centre said.

'It was the first time in 100 years any earthquake of over 6 magnitude had struck in Chiahsin township in Kaohsiung county,' said Lu Pei-ling, deputy director of the centre.

The quake in Taiwan was followed by 14 major aftershocks with seven measuring more than 4 on the Richter scale, including a magnitude-4.8 tremor, Lu said.

The earthquake sent panicked residents into the streets, according to TV reports in Taiwan.

It was also felt in Hong Kong, 655 kilometres west of the epicentre, where residents reported feeling ground movement, according to a government statement.

Police in Taiwan reported a fire at a large textile factory in the southern county of Tainan, another fire at a residence in the southern county of Chiayi as well as the collapse of three houses in southern Taiwan.

One woman was injured when a farmhouse wall collapsed in Chiayi, police said.

There were several minor landslides in the mountain area of Kaohsiung, and police had to seal off a bridge in nearby Pingtung county because of a crack in the structure.