Two Quakes Rock Taiwan, No Damage Reported...05/19/00

TAIPEI,(Reuters) - Two earthquakes shook Taiwan close to midnight on Thursday, but government officials said on Friday there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

Seismologists at the Central Weather Bureau said the earthquake occurred at 1518 GMT and registered 5.0 on the open-ended Richter scale. It was centred 38.7 km (24 miles) east of the central city of Taichung and was felt in most central and northern parts of Taiwan.

The second quake hit at 1537 GMT and registered 4.4 on the Richter scale. The quake was centred 35.8 km (22 miles) northeast of Sun Moon Lake near the centre of the island and was felt in some neighbouring towns.

This followed a moderate Wednesday earthquake registering 5.3 on the Richter scale and subsequent aftershocks which rattled Taiwan, killing at least three people and triggering rockslides on the island's east-west highway, officials said.

The epicentre of these quakes was close to a devastating September 21 earthquake measuring between 7.3 and 7.6 on the Richter scale. The killer tremor and a series of strong aftershocks killed 2,400 people and wrecked 52,000 buildings on the island.

Taiwan lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin and earthquakes occur frequently.