A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck southwestern South Korea on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses described a “thunderous rumble” but authorities have not yet recorded significant damage, South Korean media reported.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the quake struck four kilometres south of Buan county, 205 kilometres south of Seoul, at 8.26am local time (7.26 a.m. Singapore time).
A text message warning was sent out nationwide, advising residents in the affected areas to be cautious due to possible falling objects and aftershocks.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo instructed the government to take “thorough” measures in response to the quake. Noise and tremors were also felt in Sejong, Daejeon and Cheonan cities, according to local reports. Buan resident Yang Seo-yeon told AFP she heard a “thunderous boom” as she was going to work in the morning. She said:
It sounded as if I was in the middle of a huge construction site. Then my house started shaking.
Unlike neighbouring Japan, the Korean Peninsula rarely experiences major earthquakes.
The country’s most powerful earthquake to date was a magnitude 5.8 tremor that struck in September 2016 in Gyeongju, also located in the southeast of the country.
Increased seismic activity
A report by the Korea Meteorological Administration released on February 19 said 106 earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 2.0 occurred on the Korean Peninsula last year. This is 50 per cent more than the annual average since 1999. Sixteen tremors with a magnitude above 3.0 were recorded, with the annual average for the period being 10.4.
There was also an increase in seismic activity off the coast of the East Sea, which is explained by the influence of private earthquakes in Kilju-gun County, Hamgyeong-Pukdo Province. Last year, 22 earthquakes with a magnitude above 2.0 were recorded in South Korea. Five of them occurred in Gyeongsang-Pukdo province, four in Gangwon-do, and three in Jeollabuk-do.
The most powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 occurred in the East Sea off the coast of Gangwon-do Province. It was the 22nd most powerful earthquake since statistics began.
