The movement potential of the major faults in Hong Kong area

Abstract

The major faults in Hong Kong and its adjacent region can be classified into three sets, striking east-northeast, northeast and northwest, respectively. In this paper, we propose a theoretical model to evaluate the fault movement potential (FMP) based on the relationship between fault geometrical characteristics and regional tectonic stress field. The results show that the east-northeast striking Dangan Islands fault zone and the northwest striking Lau Fau Shan-East Lamma Channel fault zone are of the highest movement potentials in the area. Their intersecting area located to the east of the Dangan Island is inferred to have the possibility of generating destructive earthquakes. To the north, the movement potentials of the northeast striking Lau Fau Shan fault, Lo Wu fault and San Tin fault of the Lo Wu-Tuen Mun fault zone, especially their converging part near Lo Wu, are also relatively high.