Social media videos quickly surfaced showing people fleeing the scene.
People in Shenzhen reported to have fled the 73-story SEG Plaza after the building tilted on its foundations. No earthquake recorded in the area https://t.co/OV0g4Luz5O
— Austin Ramzy (@austinramzy) May 18, 2021
Officials are still investigating what caused the tower to wobble but have already ruled out the possibility of an earthquake.
In separate social media posts, officials said, “After checking and analyzing the data of various earthquake monitoring stations across the city, there was no earthquake in Shenzhen today,” and that experts “found no safety abnormalities in the main structure and surrounding environment of the building,” The Guardian reported
SEG Plaza was completed in 2000, and named after the semiconductor and electronics manufacturer whose offices are located in the tower. Just last year, Chinese authorities banned the construction of skyscrapers exceeding 1,640 feet, though the new rule was implemented for aesthetic reasons rather than safety. 