A strong earthquake of 6.4-magnitude shook southern coast of Taiwan on Thursday afternoon resulting in fires and creating panic among the residents.

So far no reports of death have been reported but atleast 12 people have been described as injured by the rescue officials.

The strong quake severely disrupted communications and transport links and caused power outages in many of the areas. The rail and subway service was immediately suspended in the country.

The epicenter of the earthquake was situated in the mountains of Kaohsiung near the town of Jiashin. The U.S geological survey reported that the earthquake struck about 70 kilometers from Kaohsiung city and 166 kilometers from Hualien city. The depth of the massive earthquake was around 15.5 kilometers beneath the surface.

The Kaohsuing city was in the news last august as well when more than 700 people were killed due to Typhoon Morakot which devastated the whole city housing a population of 1.5 million. The city is around 400 kilometers south of the capital, Taipei.

The tremors of the huge earthquake were felt all across Taiwan, which faces magnitude-6 quakes on an average of 3 times each year. The most devastating earthquake in recent times was of magnitude 7.6 which shook central Taiwan in 1999. The earthquake resulted in nearly 2500 casualties. Later in 2006 as well a 6.7 tremor rocked underneath Kaohsiung which disrupted underwater cables.

Though no report of any kind of death has been received yet some fires have been triggered in various parts of the country. A huge fire erupted in a textile factory in nearby Tainan area. Troops have been called in but the government but no tsunami warning has been issued. Stay tuned for more updates.