5.9 tremor rattles mainland Taiwan

A shallow 5.9-magnitude earthquake sent people fleeing onto the streets in Taiwan's second-largest city of Kaohsiung and led to temporary halting of rail services.

No casualties were reported yesterday.

The quake struck 57 kilometers east of the southern city at 10.34am at a depth of just four kilometers, the US Geological Survey said.

The Hong Kong Observatory measured the quake at a magnitude of six, while Taiwan's Seismology Centre put it at 6.1.