A major road in the centre of Taipei is seen damaged after an earthquake in Taipei, Taiwan
© REUTERSA major road in the centre of Taipei is seen damaged after an earthquake in Taipei, Taiwan on April 18, 2019.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck Taiwan's coastal city of Hualien on Thursday (April 18), shaking buildings and temporarily suspending subway services in the capital Taipei, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Local television footage showed school children being evacuated from buildings, while a weather bureau official said it was the largest quake to hit the island so far this year.

The quake struck at 1.01pm local time, and at a depth of 18km, the Central Weather Bureau said, adding that the quake measured at 4.0-magnitude in the Taipei area.

The central government said it had set up a disaster reaction centre.

A Reuters witness said the quake shook buildings in Taipei. Local media reported that all subway services in Taipei are temporarily suspended.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) put the magnitude of the quake at 6.4 in an initial reading, but later revised it to 6.1, adding that it struck at a depth of 20km east of Hualien.

Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China considers its own, lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.

More than 100 people were killed in an earthquake in the island's south in 2016, and a quake of 7.6-magnitude killed more than 2,000 people in 1999.

This story is developing.