One person died and another was rushed to a hospital after an apartment caught fire following a powerful earthquake that jolted Taiwan on Monday.  The magnitude 6.8 quake also rocked parts of southwestern Japan, particularly the islands on the Okinawa area.

The quake prompted the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue a one-meter tsunami warning for the Okinawa islands.  The same warning was lifted an hour later. No damage or injuries were reported in Japan.

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The four-story apartment located in New Taipei city burned down after its electrical box exploded.   Firefighters already found the man lifeless as they rushed to the scene.  Another man was brought to the hospital to receive immediate treatment for smoke inhalation.

Residents and employees in an office building in central Taipei were immediately evacuated due to threats of a gas leak.  Reports came out that there were several vehicles still trapped in the basement, but it remains unclear if there were people inside them.

Japanese authorities had asked people to move to a higher ground, despite the lifting of the tsunami warning. 

"We want residents to get as far as possible from the sea," Satoshi Shimoji of the Miyako City said.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan did not appear to have sustained serious damage after the quake.

However, Taiwan said people must not be too complacent as more quakes are expected to happen.

"This was the third quake measuring more than 6.0 magnitude in Taiwan so far this year -- we would not rule out the likelihood that there might be more strong quakes of this scale."  Kuo Kai-wen, chief of Taiwan's Seismology Center said.

Tagsearthquake, Taiwan, Tsunami, okinawa