Taiwan's CNA news agency said that this was the largest earthquake to hit the island since 1999, when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake killed about 2,400 people.
Taiwanese television (China) recorded images of buildings in Hualien City, east of Taiwan shaken. Train services across the island as well as metro in Taipei have been suspended.
The AP reported that the earthquake occurred at 8:58 a.m. (local time) on the other side of the island on January 3 but also caused enough shaking to drop goods off shelves in Taipei.
Taiwan's earthquake monitoring agency said the earthquake intensity was 7.2 degrees richter while the US Geological Survey said the earthquake in Taiwan was strong at 7.5 degrees richter, at a depth of about 35km. The center of the earthquake was about 18km south of Hualien.
The Japan Meteorological Agency forecasts a 3m high Tsunami will hit the Okinawa Islands group south of Japan. A 30cm high wave was spotted on the coast of Yonaguni Island about 15 minutes after the earthquake occurred.
The Japan Meteorological Agency also noted that the earthquake could hit the coast of Miyako and Yaeyama islands.
The latest earthquake occurred just a few months after a 7.6-magnitude richter hit Ishikawa Prefecture, a coastal state of Japan. More than 230 people died in the earthquake that occurred on New Year's Day, causing 44,000 homes to be completely or partially destroyed.
On March 11, 2011, a 9-magnitude earthquake occurred on the southeastern coast of Japan - the strongest earthquake in Japan's history - triggering a major song than.
This natural disaster also led to an incident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, causing the world's worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster.
