Powerful quake kills one in Taiwan

Xinhua

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One person was killed and another injured after a powerful earthquake in waters off Taiwan on Monday morning caused a fire.

The 6.4 magnitude quake, off the east coast of Hualien, Taiwan, struck at 9:42 a.m.. The quake caused a junction box near a residential building in New Taipei City to explode, which stared the fire.

A 84-year-old was killed in the fire and another was hospitalized.

Tremors were felt across Taiwan, especially in Taipei, transportation was only minimally affected.

The China Earthquake Networks Center said the earthquake measured 6.4 on the Richter scale and its epicenter was 24.0 degrees north latitude and 122.5 degrees east longitude. The quake hit at a depth of 7 kilometers.

Taiwan's seismological agency said the quake was 6.3 magnitude, at a depth of 17.5 km, and the epicenter was 76.2 km off Hualien County.