Explainer | Hong Kong shaken but not stirred by recent earthquake tremors. The Post learns more about seismic activity near the city
- Tremors from magnitude 3.7 earthquake on Monday mark third time in three months city has experienced such seismic activity
- Forecaster, experts say city’s location within Eurasian Plate means less risk than other areas located in ‘more seismically active zones’
Hongkongers reported feeling the tremors of a magnitude 3.7 earthquake earlier this week, marking the third time in three months the city has experienced such seismic activity.
The city’s forecaster said the epicentre of Monday evening’s quake was located in a southern part of mainland China, with some residents in Hong Kong briefly feelings its effects.
The Post talks to seismologists and breaks down what readers need to know about the rumbles in Hong Kong’s concrete jungle.
When were the recent tremor reports?
According to the Observatory, the epicentre of Monday’s earthquake was about 23km (14.2 miles) west-northwest of Heyuan, Guangdong province.
The forecaster added that Hongkongers back home had experienced “minor shaking, the duration of which was a few seconds”.
The incident came after the city felt the ripples of a 4.9 magnitude earthquake over the South China Sea during the early hours of May 1.
Hong Kong was also on the periphery of another quake on April 22, which had a magnitude of 5.3. Its epicentre was about 190km west of Kaohsiung, a port city in southern Taiwan, some 450km east of Hong Kong.