Magnitude 6.6 earthquake strikes off coast of Taiwan

A strong magnitude 6.6 earthquake has struck off the east coast of Taiwan.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre was around 21 km from Changbin Township in Taitung County, on the country's east coast.

It struck in the early hours today shortly around 1am.

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There are no reports of damage yet but in the 90 minutes following the quake more than 85 people have reported feeling it.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said there is no tsunami threat to Australia.

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The US Tsunami Warning Centre said there's no warning for the US west coast, British Columbia, Hawaii or Alaska either.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates — the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate — along the Ryukyu Trench and is prone to earthquakes.

This tremor comes less than a week after Japan was rocked by a 7.4 quake that left at least two dead, 160 injured and two million homes without power.

The quake has caused a serious power shortage across Japan's main island. Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) warned more than three million homes in Tokyo could have been hit with blackouts last night.

In response the city dimmed lights, turned off neon signs and dialed down heating as temperatures dropped to 2C.

More to come...