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TAIPEI, April 18-- A 6.7-magnitude earthquake rattled Hualien county in eastern Taiwan at 1:01 p.m. Thursday, injuring at least 17 people, tilting two buildings in Taipei, and spooking many others across the island. The 17 people were injured either by falling objects or shards of glass, including a 40-year-old Malaysian tourist who was severely injured by falling rocks when trekking in Taroko park in Hualien, according to Taiwan's emergency operation center. A woman, a 54-year-old Taiwan resident who was also on the hiking trail, was hospitalized with a head injury, according to the center. The other injured people were reported in Taipei and New Taipei cities. The temblor, the strongest that rocked Taiwan so far this year, lasted for one minute in Hualien and other areas. Lamps at home were shaking sharply inside buildings in Taipei and many people were dining and screaming when the earthquake occurred. Some scared residents ran out of buildings to dodge the quake. Wines and other items inside stores, or even rocks and ceilings, were widely reported to fall across Taiwan. The quake caused landslide near the epicenter in Sioulin township in Hualien. "It was the strongest earthquake I've felt in Taipei since the Sept. 21 earthquake," a Taipei resident surnamed Kao said, referring to the earthquake that shook Nantou county in 1999 and killed more than 2,400 people and injured thousands of others. | 
