In this image grab made from a video, a firefighter evacuates people from a damaged building following an earthquake in Taiwan, April 18, 2019. (PHOTO / AP)

BEIJING/TAIPEI - An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 struck Taiwan's coastal city of Hualien on Thursday, shaking buildings and temporarily suspending subway services in Taipei, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake jolted a sea area near Hualien county at 1:01 pm Thursday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). 

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes

Television footage showed school children being evacuated from buildings after the largest quake to hit the heavily industrialized island this year, a weather bureau official said.

A hundred people were evacuated from a building in Taipei, while two people were hit by falling rocks in the tourist city of Hualien, the government said.

While small-scale power cuts were reported in some districts in Taipei, the Central News Agency said, oil refinery plants and services were operating as normal, according to the government. 

It set up a disaster reaction center after the quake which hit at a depth of 18 km, according to the weather bureau. Aftershocks of more than a 5 magnitude were possible in the coming days, the bureau said.

READ MORE: 5.7-magnitude quake hits Taiwan, no casualties reported

The United States Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 6.4, adding that it struck at a depth of 15 km from Hualien.

A television falls on the floor after an earthquake in Taiwan, April 18, 2019. (PHOTO / AP)

In this photo released by Taiwan Railways Administrations, workers repair damaged facilities for the railway line near Hualien, Taiwan, April 18, 2019. (PHOTO / TAIWAN RAILWAYS ADMINISTRATIONS VIA AP)

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.

More than 100 people were killed in an earthquake in the island's south in 2016, and a quake of 7.6 magnitude killed more than 2,000 people in 1999.

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