Yes, confirmed it was an earthquake 3.5 on the Richter Scale

The bulletin below was from the Hong Kong Observatory web site: http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/equake/neqpress_e.htm#

Bulletin issued at 20:46 HKT 14/Sep/2006


An earthquake was recorded by the Hong Kong Observatory
at 7:53 p.m. today (Thursday, 14 September 2006).

The epicentre was initially determined to be in the sea area around
Dangan Island (22.0N, 114.3E), about 36 kilometres south-southeast of
Hong Kong.

The magnitude was estimated to be 3.5 on the Richter Scale.

Earthquake in Hong Kong??

Just before 8:00pm tonight, while I was working in my study room, I felt 2 strong tremors as if our building sank twice! I told myself that it was an earthquake and told my husband and child to leave the building ...they thought I was hallucinating! I was still so convinced what I felt was an earthqauke and searched the HK observatory site and found this press release : http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/equake/neqpress_e.htm#

Several people had called in to report that they had felt similar tremors.

Air Pollution Photo

It was a very polluted day yesterday and we could see the sun in the morning through the polluted air. Normally we will not be able to see the outline of the sun if not for the particles that had filtered off most of the powerful rays.

I used to have 4 air-purifiers at home and rarely opened the windows. The quality of life is poor if the very air we breathe everyday makes us sick. I do not go out on days like these and if I really need to, I'll take the cab. I don't like the idea of breathing filth into my lungs -- it scares me so much to see how much dust the filters collect.

Air Pollution (See What It's Like!)

The picture on the left shows what the environment looks like on a normal day when the air pollution is high. On a very bad day, the pink building would not be clearly visible!!

The mountains in the distance is now invisible when it could be seen on a clear day. Air pollution is what people living in Hong Kong have to put up with. Air pollution affects our health in many ways and in my opinion lowers our quality of life. The effects of pollution can range from teary eyes to more serious consequences - especially in the long term.

Polluted Air

Pollution is common in HK. On days like these, the green Lion Rock mountain in the distance looks washed-out and greyish. Sometimes, visibility can be so low that I will not be able to see the mountain at all!! That usually happens hours before the start of a typhoon when the air will be dead still. So the expression "the calm before the storm" is well understood here.

This morning, there was a great display of lightning and lots of thundering claps. I was too tired to capture the phenomena though - wished I had.

Hot Weather

I have a very clear view of the sky and mountains from my place. A quick look out the window can indicate the weather for that moment and blue skies like the one in the picture is rare.

For most of the days, I could barely even see the mountain because the air is smoggy. On those days, I'm more inclined to stay indoors or wear a mask when venturing outdoors. However, that helped little as most EPA particles are so small that they could penetrate the masks and be breathed into our respiratory system causing a myraid of symptoms. I appreciate clear weathers - it's a good time for the beach or even HK disneyland.

3 Typhoons around the vicinity the past week

It is quite rare to have 3 typhoons around the vicinity in HK. Fortunately, we were 'spared' of their awesome destructive powers as they made landfall in our neighbouring lands. It's a blessing some will take for granted.

I still remembered once when we were hit by Typhoon York several years ago and that was extremely scary. Recalling how my skyscraper swayed from side to side and how the wind actually "sucked" the windows wide open was too much for me. Thereafter, all my windows are secured by wired ties even on normal days.

While different areas may show different physical phenomenon, a typhoon in our vicinity will always cause smog to cover the island and the air very still. After the typhoon is over, the air will be good. Recently we had a typhoon and a T3 signal was raised. But the wind I experienced at TST pier was as bad as that of a T8!!

Last few days, we are seeing nice blue skies. It's not very often that one sees nice blue skies in Hong Kong. Visibility is usually bad - and so bad that the scenery is "washed grey".

More lightning Pictures

Being able to take such a breathtaking lightning display in Hong Kong is a rare opportunity indeed. There were a few other occasions when I have tried shooting them but with no success at all. While awesome to behold, these are scary events when those lightnings happen to strike near or at your building.

Lightning Displays

After learning about how many times lightning had struck Hong Kong 3 days ago (4000+ in 2 hours), I decided that I should be able to capture some displays should there be another thunderstorm.

Sure enough, I did not have to wait too long. Yesterday, almost near to midnight, the lightning flashed incessantly. It was beautiful what I witnessed from my window. There seemed to be many lightning strikes but few thunder claps. Well, reminds me of the show "War of the Worlds" I watched at the cinema a week ago.