Update | 9 dead, 265 injured, 56 missing in M6.5 Taiwan quake

Death toll rose to nine at 6:00 a.m. local time on Thursday, after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake rattled Taiwan's east coast on Tuesday night.

Three of the victims were Chinese mainland travelers who had lived on the second floor of the destroyed Yun Tsui Building.

The quake injured 265 people, and 56 were still missing.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), the earthquake struck waters near Hualien County at around 11:50 p.m. Tuesday at a depth of 11 kilometers.

The earthquake was followed by at least 160 aftershocks including several measuring over magnitude 5 as of 7:00 p.m. Wednesday.

It is the most severe earthquake to hit Hualien in five decades, according to Fu, the head of Hualien County.

The highway from Suao to Hualien was temporarily closed. The earthquake also caused 200 households to lose power and 35,000 households to lose water supply, the local fire agency said.

Taiwan's earthquake experts said more quakes might occur in the coming weeks.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)