TAIPEI - A SERIES of earthquakes including one with a magnitude of 5.6 rocked Taiwan on Sunday, the Seismology Centre said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The strongest quake hit at 5.34pm (Singapore time) and was felt throughout the island, causing buildings to sway in the capital Taipei.

Seismologists issued no tsunami alert.

They put the quake's location at 20 kilometres (12 miles) north-east of Hsiulin, a town in the east of the island, with a depth of eight kilometres.

The Centre recorded 11 other tremors near the area in the day.

Taiwan, which lies near the junction of two tectonic plates, is regularly shaken by earthquakes. A 7.6-magnitude quake killed around 2,400 people in September 1999.