An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck Taitung County, eastern Taiwan, early Sunday morning, waking people up as far away as central and southern Taiwan, the seismology center of Taiwan's weather bureau reported.

According to a report reaching Hong Kong from Taipei, the quake rattled eastern Taiwan for about 30 seconds at 6:40 AM Sunday (22:40 GMT, Saturday). Its epicenter was located at 19.9 kilometers northeast of Taitung at a depth of 11.7 kilometers beneath the surface of the sea, Taiwan seismologists said.

No damage or injuries have been reported so far, although efforts are underway to check if the tremor caused any landslides or falling rocks.

As the quake occurred in a comparatively shallow area, it was felt in almost every area in eastern, central and southern parts of the island. The shock waves penetrated beneath the Central Mountain Range to reach even Penghu Island offshore the southern county of Kaohsiung.

The quake is the second with a magnitude greater than 6.0 to rattle the island in less than half a month.

Hong Kong Observatory Sunday morning put the magnitude of the quake at 5.8 on the Richter scale.

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2006)