Large earthquake hits off of Taiwan's east coast

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - A strong earthquake struck off eastern Taiwan Monday night, meteorologists said. No damage, injuries or tsunami warning was immediately reported.

The magnitude 6.0 quake hit at around 9:40 p.m. local time (around 1340 GMT) and was centered at sea about 33 kilometers (20 miles) south of the coastal city of Hualien, the Central Weather Bureau said on its Web site.

Hualien is about 130 kilometers (82 miles) southeast of the capital, Taipei.

Buildings shook in Taipei when the quake struck.

Quakes frequently rattle Taiwan, but most are minor and cause little or no damage.

However, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in central Taiwan in September 1999 killed more than 2,300 people, and in December 2006 a 6.7 offshore tremor south of the city of Kaohsiung severed two undersea cables and disrupted telephone and Internet service to millions of users throughout Asia.