By LIANG TAO, CRI Hong Kong Correspondent

The Hong Kong Observatory recorded a severe earthquake of magnitude 7.2 near the Luzon Strait on Tuesday. It has disrupted telecommunications in Hong Kong and the region as several operators say their undersea cables were damaged.

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority, or OFTA, confirmed that external telecommunications services in Hong Kong - including Internet access to overseas websites, IDD calls and roaming calls - had been affected, as a number of submarine cables had been damaged in the earthquake.

Operators' reports to OFTA confirm telecoms users have been facing severe congestion in a number of external services.

The congestion is expected to continue for a few days. Meanwhile, operators are taking measures to maximize their existing facilities' throughput and using alternative routings. 

The submarine cables' operators have arranged urgent repairs, although some are expected to take at least five days.

Users are urged to minimize non-essential Internet access to overseas websites and not to repeat making non-urgent overseas calls after failed call attempts.

The quake's epicenter was estimated to be about 100 kilometers south-southeast of Kaohsiung, over the Luzon Strait.

A number of local residents reported feeling this tremor, which lasted only a few seconds.