Two earthquakes struck off the southwest coast of Taiwan on Tuesday, the second anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster that left more than 200,000 dead.

Tuesday's first temblor registered a magnitude 7.1, and the second one, which followed eight minutes later, was a magnitude 7.0.

The quakes caused power cuts in Kaohsiung, a port city in south Taiwan.

Although the quake struck south Taiwan, buildings in Taipei in north Taiwan swayed and windows rattled.