Powerful quake shakes Taiwan

The charred interior of a home here in Taiwan - the result of a fire caused by a powerful earthquake that shook the area on Wednesday.

Official Taiwanese agencies said it had a magnitude of 6.1, while the U.S. Geological Survey registered the quake at 6.3.

Taiwan's National Fire Agency said one person had been killed by a falling wall, at least 20 people have been injured, and one house caught fire.

(SOUNDBITE) (Taiwanese) UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS SAYING:

"I was so scared, no one else was at home. I could not run away because I was so scared my legs became weak."

Earthquakes are fairly common in Taiwan, which lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin.

In 1999, a 7.6 magnitude quake killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings.