Taipei: A strong earthquake struck southeastern Taiwan on Sunday, killing at least one person, bringing down a handful of buildings and tearing up roads -- but forecasters said the threat of a regional tsunami had passed.
The quake hit at 2:44 pm (0644 GMT) about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the city of Taitung at a depth of 10 kilometres, the United States Geological Survey said. Its initial strength was given as magnitude 7.2 but the USGS later downgraded it to 6.9. Multiple aftershocks were recorded.