A magnitude 5.8 earthquake was registered some 37 kilometers (23 miles) south of Hualien City, Taiwan, at approximately 9:05 a.m. local time on June 20, according to early data from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).
The seismic event occurred at a shallow depth of about 6.8 kilometers (4.2 miles), according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau.
The bureau, EMSC, and US Geological Survey (USGS) initially registered the earthquake as a magnitude 6.0 event. However, the EMSC has since downgraded it to magnitude 5.8.
"Good side-to-side shaking for about 15-20 seconds on 4th floor in Zhubei," said one witness in Zhubei, Taiwan, some 144 kilometers (89 miles) from the epicenter.
Another individual reported that they "felt the shake quite strongly" while on the fourth floor of a building in Taiwan's Taoyuan City, approximately 153 kilometers (95 miles) from the central point.
M 5.8 - TAIWAN - 2022-06-20 01:05:07 UTC
© EMSC
The earthquake struck a sparsely populated part of the island, according to the Central Weather Bureau. However, strong tremors were felt by those as far away as the Taiwanese capital of Taipei, located nearly 160 kilometers (99 miles) from the epicenter.
Taiwan is prone to earthquakes, as the island rests at the convergent boundaries of the Eurasian and Philippine Sea Plates.
There have been no immediate reports of injuries or structural damage.