A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck about 30km off Taiwan’s northeastern coastal city of Yilan late on ‍Saturday (Dec 27), the ⁠island’s ‍weather administration said, with no immediate report ‍of major ⁠damage.

The ‍quake with a depth of 73km ⁠was felt across north Taiwan and shook buildings ‍in the capital Taipei, the administration added, attributing it an intensity four category, meaning there could be minor damage.

The intensity of the quake was measured at four on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale in areas including Taipei City, Hualien county and Yilan county.

There have been no reports of major damage from across the island and no tsunami alert was issued after the quake, Taiwan’s fire department said.

More ‍than ‌3,000 homes in Yilan briefly lost power, Taiwan Power Company said.

Taiwan chipmaker TSMC said a small number of its facilities in the Hsinchu science park, where it is headquartered, reached evacuation criteria following the earthquake.

"Prioritising personnel safety, we are conducting ‌outdoor evacuations and headcounts in ‍accordance ‌with emergency response procedures. Work safety systems at all facilities ‌are operating normally," it said in a brief statement.

Tremors could also be felt as far away as Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Observatory received over 100 reports from people who felt the tremor, which lasted a few seconds.

The earthquake hit Taiwan days after a 6.1 magnitude quake struck the southeastern part of the island on Wednesday, although there were no reports of damage.

This is the biggest earthquake to hit the island since April 2024, when a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Hualien county, killing 19 people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.