Oct. 15, 2004
BEIJING, October 15 (Itar-Tass) - The strongest quake registered in Taiwan over the past five years has hit Taiwan on Friday, causing casualties among the population and heavy damage. Several people have been injured, first reports said.
Taipei sources located the epicenter of the quake, that measured seven points on the Richter scale, 58 kilometers down under the Pacific Ocean and approximately 110 kilometers northeast of the town of Suao.
Earth tremors spread practically to the whole territory of the island, and reached four points in Taipei.
Taiwan is located in a seismically hazardous zone in East Asia where earth tremors occur rather often and pose a serious threat to the local population. In 1999 a devastating quake measuring 7.6 points killed more than 2,000 people and destroyed around 50,000 buildings.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1350884&PageNum=0