TAIPEI: A strong earthquake rattled Taiwan and southern Japanese islands on Monday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 8:05 am (0005 GMT), was about 188 km southeast of Hualien on Taiwan's east coast at a depth of 11 km, the island's weather bureau said in a statement.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.7 after a first estimation of 6.9. Japan withdrew an earlier tsunami warning.

Earthquakes occur frequently in Taiwan, which lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin.

Taiwan is recovering from a typhoon that struck on Aug 8, causing widespread mudslides and flooding. Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou has estimated the eventual death toll from the storm at more than 500.

One of Taiwan's worst-recorded quakes occurred in September 1999. Measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, it killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings.

(Agencies)