Time to quake up: Hongkongers rattled by morning tremor off the coast of Taiwan

The point of the epicentre. Via The HK Observatory.
The point of the epicentre. Via The HK Observatory.

It was a shaky start to the week for some in Hong Kong this morning and no, we’re not talking about the outcome of yesterday’s by-election.

Aside from the shock of this weekend’s Taiwanese elections, which saw voters reject same-sex marriage and an embarrassing results for the territory’s president Tsai Ing-wen, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake, which struck off the coast of Taiwan, was felt in areas of Hong Kong this morning.

According to the Hong Kong Observatory, almost a thousand people reported feeling the tremor which occurred just before 8am and lasted for a few seconds.

The weather service reported the quake’s epicenter was located about 470 kilometers east-northeast of Hong Kong, off the west coast of Taiwan. It occurred at a depth of about 10 to 20 kilometers.

The Observatory assessed the local intensity as a four on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale. That means the tremor caused hanging objects swing and rattled windows, dishes and doors.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the quake.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.

In February, its eastern Hualien city was hit by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake which killed 17 people.

The island’s worst such disaster in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.

With AFP.



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on