The 2017 Pohang earthquake, measuring magnitude 5.4 on the
moment magnitude scale, struck
Heunghae
Heunghae is a town, or '' eup'' in Buk-gu, Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and s ...
,
Pohang,
North Gyeongsang Province,
South Korea on November 15, 2017.
It is tied with the
2016 Gyeongju earthquake as the country's strongest earthquake in modern history.
Earthquake
The earthquake, along with several aftershocks, caused significant infrastructure damage in the southern port city of Pohang. At least 82 people were injured in the earthquake, including 15 people who were hospitalized. About 1,124 people stayed in temporary shelters after they had to leave their homes.
Result
According to an initial assessment by the
Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the earthquake damaged 2,165 private properties, including 1,988 private houses. Of those, 52 homes suffered severe damage and 157 suffered serious damage.
Damage was also reported at 227 schools across the region, 107 of them in Pohang, 44 in
Ulsan and 26 in
Daegu
Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.
It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
. Furthermore, damage was reported at 79 public offices and parks, 23 port facilities, 7 roads, 90 shops, 77 factories, and 11 bridges.
Nearly 20,000 people, including soldiers, were mobilized to help clear debris and to assist in restoration works. More than 80 percent of damaged properties were restored within 4 days of the initial earthquake.
A seismograph installed nearby epicenter of this earthquake measured peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.58 g; Due to Pohang City's poor subsoil area, seismic wave amplified while passing through, making the damage somewhat heavier than the 5.8 magnitude
2016 Gyeongju earthquake. 0.58 ''
g'' of PGA is about equivalent to MMI Intensity VIII to IX.
The mainly caused fault of this earthquake was under debate; initially
Yangsan Fault was thought to be the cause of this earthquake, however days later
Korea Meteorological Administration
The Korea Meteorological Administration () (KMA) is the national meteorological service of the Republic of Korea. The service started in 1904 joining the WMO in 1956. Numerical Weather Prediction is performed using the Unified Model software suit ...
(KMA) announced that Jangsa fault - a branch fault of Yangsan fault - is main cause of the earthquake. However, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) analyzed that the unknown fault caused this earthquake. Water injection in the ground by the geothermal plant in Pohang might have also triggered the earthquake.
The
College Scholastic Ability Test
The College Scholastic Ability Test or CSAT ( ko, , ), also abbreviated Suneung ( ko, , ), is a standardized test which is recognized by South Korean universities. The Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) administers the annual ...
was delayed by one week both to change testing sites and allow nerves a chance to relax from the quake.
See also
*
2016 Gyeongju earthquake
*
List of earthquakes in 2017
*
List of earthquakes in South Korea
This is list of earthquakes in South Korea. Earthquakes in South Korea are less frequent than in neighboring countries, such as China and Japan.
Earthquakes
Significant earthquakes have occurred in South Korean prior to the 20th century.
* : a ...
References
External links
*
{{Earthquakes in 2017
2017 earthquakes
Earthquakes in South Korea
2017 disasters in South Korea
November 2017 events in South Korea
Pohang