A rare earthquake rattled Hong Kong on Friday, prompting alarmed residents to call local authorities to report feeling the tremor, officials said.
There were no reports of any damage or casualties as a result of the 2.8-magnitude quake, which struck in the middle of the afternoon about 30 kilometres north of Hong Kong, near the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
"Quite a number of local residents from various parts of the territory reported to have felt this tremor," the Hong Kong Observatory, the city's meteorological agency, said in a statement.
The quake lasted several seconds, it added.
The jolt was felt in the former British colony's northern New Territories, home to the Hong Kong Golf Club, which is hosting an international tournament this week.
"I bent over on the 14th tee and wondered what it was," said world No 14 Ian Poulter, the clubhouse leader after the second round of the Hong Kong Open. "I was just about to peg my ball up, so I did feel a little tremor.
"It just felt tiny. It was a bit strange, but it didn't put me off."
Hong Kong on average records only one or two locally-felt earthquakes a year, according to the observatory, although mainland China and Taiwan experience tremors that are both far stronger and more frequent.
The observatory said no one was known to have died as a result of an earthquake in the densely-populated city since its records began.
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