Mild quake rocks Taiwan
( 2002-10-09 14:46 ) (7 )

An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale hit Taiwan Wednesday, seismologists said, but there were no reports of casualties or damage.

The quake struck at 12:56 pm (0456 GMT) with its epicenter 19.4 kilometers (11.6 miles) south of Nanao, a coastal town in northeastern Ilan county, and 13.3 kilometers under the seabed, seismologists said.

The island, frequently rocked by earthquakes, was hit by a powerful quake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale on September 16, but there were no casualties or damage.

A quake of the same magnitude on March 31 killed five people in Taipei. One on May 15, measuring 6.2, left a three-month-old boy dead in eastern Taiwan.

A killer quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale devastated central Taiwan on September 21, 1999, leaving 2,400 people dead and some 100,000 homeless.