LEAD: Strong quake kills 2, injures 42 in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Dec. 27 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING)

A powerful earthquake rattled southwestern Taiwan on Tuesday evening, leaving two dead and 42 others injured, authorities said Wednesday.

The Central Weather Bureau said the quake with a magnitude of 6.7 shook the southernmost county of Pingtung at 8:26 p.m. Tuesday and soon sparked fears that a potentially destructive tsunami may hit the Philippines, a disaster similar to a deadly wave that devastated countries around the perimeter of the Indian Ocean in December 2004.

The alert came to nothing in the end, but the temblor was still felt throughout the neighboring area, including Hong Kong, Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi in mainland China's coastal areas, according to media reports.

Eight people were trapped when a furniture shop in the small town of Hengchun collapsed as a string of aftershocks continued to rock the island. Two of them, the parents of twins, were reported dead.

The earthquake, recorded as the strongest in 100 years in this area, triggered fires and gas leaks and caused a blackout in several other towns and villages in Pingtung, but they have been brought under control without causing major damage.

Undersea cables were also damaged and will not be fully restored for another three weeks, the government-run Chunghwa Telecom said.

A rescue and maintenance crew has begun clearing the rubble Wednesday morning, with some schools and offices having been forced to close for a day.

The epicenter of the quake was located under the seabed about 23 kilometers southwest of Hengchun, the weather bureau said.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 7.1.

About eight minutes after the first temblor, another strong quake with a magnitude of 6.4 struck the area, with its epicenter northwest of Fangliao in Pingtung.

As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, at least 121 aftershocks have hit the area, according to the weather bureau.

Earthquakes frequently hit Taiwan.

More than 2,000 people were killed in a 7.6 magnitude quake that hit central Taiwan in late September 1999.

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