5.3-Magnitude quake hits northeast of Taiwan

An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale jolted the sea off the northeastern coast of Taiwan at 3:19 p.m. Beijing Time Wednesday, according to Taiwan's meteorological authorities. The epicenter, with a depth of 99.4 km, was monitored at 24.48 degrees north latitude and 123.97 degrees east longitude. It was about 225 km east to Yilan, Xinhua reported. Taiwan meteorological authorities put the seismic scale of the tremor at one, referring to those quakes that could be felt by people at a standstill. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the earthquake scale as 5.2 with a depth of 109.3 km at the epicenter, which was determined to be at 25.05 degrees north latitude and 123.78 degrees east longitude.