By Francesca Hangeior
At least 27 people were reportedly wounded after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck the south of Taiwan.
The country’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) said the quake had a depth of 9.4 kilometres (6 miles) with its epicentre in Dapu township in Chiayi county, and hit shortly after midnight on Tuesday. 
The full extent of the damage is still being assessed. The main tremor was followed by several smaller quakes.
CWA said there have been dozens of aftershocks, including two with a magnitude of five or higher, mostly in Tainan, adjacent to Chiayi.
The National Fire Agency (NFA) added that several buildings in disaster-stricken areas of southern Tainan City collapsed, trapping some individuals who were later rescued.
The fire agency said 15 people were sent to hospital for minor injuries. Among them were six people, including one child, who were rescued from a collapsed building.
The NFA also reported cases of road and infrastructure damage, along with power outages impacting parts of the country.
Taiwan lies along the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
Last April, a 7.2-magnitude quake struck eastern Taiwan, claiming at least 18 lives and injuring more than 1,000 people.
