The epicenter was located at a depth of 5 kilometers and was 9. 3 kilometers to the northeast of Ilan County, northeast Taiwan.

Almost 300 aftershocks were recorded two hours after the initial quake, eight of which had a magnitude of more than four.

Experts said there will be more aftershocks of four- or five- magnitude in the next two weeks.

Taiwan Power Co. said that as of 1 p.m., it had not received any reports of power outages since the earthquake struck, adding that power supplies around the island should remain normal.

In Taipei, many office buildings swayed for about one minute during the initial earthquake and Taipei's subway system was temporarily suspended.

Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. reported that 30 trains were running when the quake rattled the island, with 15 of those trains traveling between stations. Staff workers at the various MRT stations quickly helped evacuate the passengers.

The trains resumed operations at 1:30 p.m. following safety checks, it said.

No damage was reported from the science-based Industrial Park in Hsinchu, the island's home of high-tech industry.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a major microchip foundry manufacturer, said that its power supply was not interrupted and that its staff did not need to be evacuated.

Taiwan is located on an earthquake-prone stretch of the Pacific Basin. One of the island's worst recorded earthquakes took place on Sept. 21, 1999, killing more than 2,400 people and wreaking extensive damage around the island.

The more recent major earthquake of March 31 this year, with a magnitude of 6.8, killed five people and caused serious damage to several buildings, mostly in Taipei.

Experts said the quake was a strong aftershock from the earthquake six weeks ago.

( May 16, 2002)