Taiwan's Hualien City hit by major aftershocks further damaging buildings after deadly earthquake

Taiwan has been hit by major aftershocks causing further damage to buildings that were struck by a deadly earthquake earlier this month.

A cluster of earthquakes struck Taiwan early on Tuesday, with the strongest registered at magnitude 6.1, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

There were no reports of casualties but there was further damage to two multi-story buildings that had been evacuated in the island’s strongest quake in the last 25 years.

The magnitude 7.4 quake, centred along Hualien County, hit Taiwan earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000.

The quake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks, including the tremors on Tuesday.

According to the USGS, Tuesday's quake of 6.1 magnitude had its epicentre 28km (17.5 miles) south of the city of Hualien, at a depth of 10.7km.

The half-dozen other quakes ranged from magnitude 4.5 to magnitude 6, all near Hualien.

Taiwan's own earthquake monitoring centre put the magnitudes of the initial quake at 6.3.

The largest among them were two earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and 6.3 that occurred at 2.26 am and 2.32am on Tuesday, according to the Taiwan centre.

Scores of aftershocks could be felt on the upper floors of apartment buildings in the capital Taipei, about 150 km (93 miles) across steep mountains to the northwest.

The Full Hotel in downtown Hualien partially collapsed during the quakes and was left leaning at a severe angle, it was empty at the time due to renovation work.

The nearby Tong Shuai Building was also empty, having been marked for demolition after being heavily damaged in the April 3 quake.

Schools and offices in Hualien and the surrounding county were ordered to close on Tuesday as hundreds of aftershocks continued to strike on land and just off the coast in the Pacific Ocean, the vast majority below magnitude 3.

Authorities advised anyone whose home had been damaged in the last quake to move out until the aftershocks subsided, and some decided to wait in their cars.

Rock slides closed a section of road in the rugged Taroko Gorge, where several hikers were killed in the April 3 quake.

Although train services from Taipei to Hualien were suspended, the disruption to traffic was minimal and the road, provincial highway 8, was expected to be cleared by Wednesday.

Cracks opened on some walkways and bridges and some tiles fell from exterior walls, but damage was only slight.

Taiwan is no stranger to powerful earthquakes and their toll on the high-tech island's 23 million residents has been relatively contained thanks to its excellent earthquake preparedness, experts say.

The island also has strict construction standards and widespread public education campaigns about earthquakes.

In 1999, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Taiwan killed 2,400 people.

Taiwan lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean from South America to Japan, Indonesia and New Zealand.

Quakes, often with their epicentres in the Pacific, are a near-daily occurrence on the island, where they are often referred to as "the movement of the earth cattle".

Taiwan's Cabinet has set aside more than $20 billion Taiwan Dollars ($614.9 million) for relief and reconstruction following the April 3 quake.