A road near an elementary school in southern Taiwan, meanwhile, split open, while Kaohsiung authorities scrambled to respond to fire alarms around the city.
Two more aftershocks of magnitude 5.2 followed at 8:40pm and 10:53pm, and then another at 11:41pm that measured at 5.5 and was felt in Changhua County.
Hotels in Kenting, a beach resort township at the southern tip of the Hengchun Peninsula, were evacuated during the earthquake, according to a hotel worker interviewed by TVBS. No casualties were reported at that location.
A receptionist surnamed Ko at the Splendor Hotel in downtown Kaohsiung told the Taipei Times by telephone that the earthquake had not interfered with the hotel's operations, and that no evacuation had taken place.
"There was a bit of shaking, but even though the Splendor's a tall building, it's designed to withstand earthquakes. A lot of our guests were concerned, but we explained the situation to them and there was no panic here," Ko said.
Cracks in the Kaoping Bridge -- which connects Kaohsiung and Pingtung cities and is part of a major transport artery -- appeared in the wake of the earthquakes, sparking concerns of another collapse of the structure. The bridge collapsed in 2000, injuring 22 people, because of poor maintenance.
Yesterday's quakes were felt throughout the nation. They swayed buildings and knocked objects off the shelves as far away as Taipei.
Taiwan, which lies near the junction of two tectonic plates, is regularly shaken by earthquakes.
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