Shallow 6.1-magnitude earthquake hits off Taiwan: USGS

TAIPEI: A shallow 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit off the eastern coast of Taiwan late Sunday, the United States Geological Survey said.

The quake's epicentre was around 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of the port city of Hualien at a depth of around eight kilometres, the USGS added.

There were no immediate reports of any destruction caused by the tremors. The USGS said there is "low likelihood of casualties and damage".

"Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist," the organisation said.

It cautioned, however, that earthquakes in the past have triggered landslides.

The 6.1-magnitude earthquake was one of five that struck at a shallow depth in the same area off Taiwan´s eastern coast within two hours of each other on Sunday.

The other four were between 5.2 and 5.5 magnitude, according to the USGS.