An AFP journalist in the capital Taipei felt tremors for nearly a minute as the shallow quake struck shortly after midnight.

The epicentre was recorded 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) north of Yujing, a mango-growing district in southern Taiwan, the USGS said.

Video posted on Facebook and verified by AFP showed local fire authorities rescuing three people, including a child, who were trapped in a house that collapsed in nearby Nanxi district.

The ceilings of several other houses in the district caved in.

Elsewhere, a person was injured by falling debris while two people were rescued from elevators, authorities said.

The health ministry said a total of 27 people were injured, while the Nanxi district fire brigade said "no major damage" had been reported.

Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC said it evacuated workers from some of its central and southern factories.

In Chiayi City, north of Yujing, CCTV showed shelves swaying and goods falling to the floor, in footage shared on Threads and verified by AFP.

Taiwan is frequently hit by earthquakes due to its location on the edges of two tectonic plates near the Pacific Ring of Fire, which USGS says is the most seismically active zone in the world.

The last major earthquake occurred in April 2024 when the island was hit by a deadly 7.4-magnitude tremor that officials said was the strongest in 25 years.

At least 17 people were killed in that quake, which triggered landslides and severely damaged buildings around Hualien.

April's earthquake was the most serious in Taiwan since it was struck by a 7.6-magnitude tremor in 1999.

Some 2,400 people died in that quake, making it the deadliest natural disaster in the island's history.

Since then, Taiwan has updated and enhanced its building code to incorporate quake-resistant construction methods, such as steel bars that allow a building to sway more easily when the ground moves.

Famous for its cutting-edge tech firms, Taiwan has built up an advanced early warning system that can alert the public to potentially serious ground shaking within seconds.

The system has been enhanced over the years to incorporate new tools such as smartphones and high-speed data connectivity, even in some of the most remote parts of the island.

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