Authorities: Risk of Larger Earthquake in Guangdong Unlikely

 An earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale hit the Heyuan area of Guangdong Province at 02:34 on February 16th. The earthquake was felt across Meizhou (梅州), Huihou (惠州), Dongguan (东莞), Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong to varying degrees, however it appears that there were no casualties or damages sustained.

According to Zhong Yijun, the deputy director of the Guangdong Earthquake Administration, it is not likely that a larger earthquake will hit Guangdong Province in the near future. Zhong Yijun stated that the earthquake on February 16th was a "reservoir-induced" (水库地震) earthquake (the mass of water in a reservoir alters the pressure in the rock below and through fissures in the rocks, lubricates the fault, which can trigger earthquakes – Wikipedia), and that this earthquake was actually an aftershock of a principal earthquake that occurred under the Heyuan Xinfengjiang Reservoir on March 19th, 1962. While there will likely continue to be smaller earthquakes in the area in the future, they won't exceed the magnitude of the principal earthquake. After the principal earthquake hit Xinfengjiang Reservoir in 1962, the "earthquake-proof" reinforcements were added to the dam, and the recent 4.8 earthquake did not compromise the dam's integrity. 

Historical records of Guangdong show that since 1067, there have been 54 earthquakes measuring more than 4.75 on the Richter scale. The largest earthquakes (both 7.0) occurred in 1600 and 1918 in Nan'ao county (广东南澳).

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