Vibrations felt as 1.4-magnitude earthquake strikes Hong Kong near Cheung Chau island
- Earthquake took place at 12.22pm between Cheung Chau and Lamma Island, about 16km southwest of Hong Kong Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui
- Observatory received more than 10 locally felt reports of earth tremor, the duration of which was a few seconds
A magnitude 1.4 earthquake struck Hong Kong on Thursday, with the epicentre 16km from the tourist hub of Tsim Sha Tsui, according to the Observatory – causing vibrations indoors that felt like a light truck passing.
In a report posted on its website, the Observatory said an earthquake of magnitude 1.4 took place at 12.22pm near the outlying island of Cheung Chau.
“The epicentre was located near 22.20 N, 114.06 E, about 16km southwest of the Hong Kong Observatory [in Tsim Sha Tsui],” the report said.
“The Observatory received over 10 locally felt reports of this earth tremor, the duration of which was a few seconds. An initial estimate gave a local intensity of III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, which is felt indoors, [with a] vibration like the passing of light trucks.”
The scale measures the intensity of shaking produced by a quake with values ranging from I (1) to XII (12), with I representing “not felt by humans” and XII representing “catastrophic”, or total damage.