RESIDENTS TRAPPED IN BUILDINGS AS EARTHQUAKE HITS TAIWAN

Some of the affected buildings.

A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake has damaged buildings in the Taiwanese city of Hualien, media reports say.

The tremor struck at 23:50 (15:50 GMT) about 20km (12 miles) off the island's east coast.

Photographs posted on social media showed extensive damage to roads and high-rise buildings.

BBC reports that emergency services are working to free people who are trapped in a hotel that has partially collapsed, the reports say.

"The president has asked the cabinet and related ministries to immediately launch the 'disaster mechanism' and to work at the fastest rate on disaster relief work," the president's office said in a statement.

There are no reports yet of casualties yet. The strong earthquake was followed by several lower magnitude tremors. People reported feeling it in the island's capital, Taipei, more than 160km (100 miles) away.

The island of Taiwan sits near a junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.

The earthquake happened on the second anniversary of another 6.4 magnitude one in 2016, which killed 116 people.

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