The island’s weather office quickly followed an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 on Sunday, followed by another at 6.2, hitting eastern Taiwan on Sunday, with no reports of damage.
The first quake, which shook buildings in the capital Taipei, had a depth of 15 km (nine miles) with its epicenter in Hualien province on the sparsely populated and mountainous east coast of Taiwan, the bureau said.
The second earthquake, three minutes after the first, had a depth of 14 km, also with its epicenter in Hualien, he said, adding that there would likely be aftershocks.
The media in Taiwan said guests at hotels in the city of Hualien stormed the streets after the earthquake. Hualien is a popular tourist destination.
The Ministry of Transportation said the operations on the island’s high-speed railway, which runs along the west coast of Taiwan, are not affected.
The Taipei city government said the metro system is operating normally after trains were briefly ordered to slow down.
The fire department said no reports of damage were received.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates in the South China Sea and is prone to earthquakes.
More than 100 people were killed in an earthquake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in 1999 killed more than 2,000 people.
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