Published : Sept. 13, 2016 - 14:49
After a record magnitude earthquake jolted most parts of South Korea overnight, seismic experts and disaster response officials said Tuesday the quake and its aftershocks had died down. But they also warned the Korean Peninsula may henceforth experience severe earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater, calling for strengthened safety measures.
Meanwhile, a number of industrial facilities in the southeastern part of the country, including a power plant, temporarily halted operations for safety inspections.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-an discusses measures to prevent earthquake with governemnt officials on Tuesday. Yonhap
“It is highly likely that this earthquake is over, but there is the possibility that magnitude 5.8 or more may occur any time in the future,” Korea Meteorological Administration chief Ko Yun-hwa reported at a parliament-government earthquake countermeasure meeting.
But chances are slim the magnitude will rise above 6.5, the KMA administrator added, citing the topographic features of the Korean Peninsula.
“Considering the past earthquake records and the relatively short lengths of the faults, fatal earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or more are not likely to occur here,” he said.
A record magnitude 5.8 earthquake was detected at 8:32 p.m. on Monday, marking the strongest turbulence reported on the peninsula to date, according to the agency. The epicenter was reportedly some 8 kilometers south of Gyeongju, a tourist city known for its relics from the Silla Kingdom and located some 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
This quake was preceded by a 5.1-magnitude tremor earlier at 7:44 p.m. which occurred some 9 kilometers south of the city.
The second impact spread out to most parts of the country, resulting in 213 aftershocks across the country as of 1 p.m. Tuesday and delivering a tremor equivalent to magnitude 2 in the metropolitan region late Monday.
No serious damages or fatal injuries were immediately reported, but two were killed after being hit by a KTX train that was moving on a delayed schedule due to the quake. A total of 23 were reported to be lightly injured in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, and 8,070 report calls were made in the region, according to the local government.
In the southeastern part of the country, a number of businesses temporarily halted their operations for safety checks. Among them was a thermal power plant and local industry leader Hyundai Motor in Ulsan, the southern neighbor city to Gyeongju. The hours-long shutdown reportedly dropped the carmaker’s production output by some 65,000 cars.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, several textile plants also suspended production, causing some 40 million won ($36,000) in losses. Chemical plants, too, followed suit in halting operations, but soon restarted as their facilities are designed to withstand a quakes up to 7.0 magnitude.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., which operates the country’s nuclear plants, said none of its reactors, including those at the Wolsong, Hanul and Gori plants are close to the epicenter, were affected by the earthquake, adding they are still producing electricity. A combined cycle power plant in Ulsan, not far from Gyeongju, reported one of its thermal power generation units going offline.
While the industrial circles moved to make up for the losses, the government set to administrative countermeasures, bracing itself for future disasters.
The Ministry of Public Safety and Security, which came under fire for the lack of a proper response manual and for failing to send out disaster warning messages, pledged to expand its budget and facilities.
“So far, we had to rely on civil communications networks instead of the government ones, which is why we faced a supply shortage in situations such as yesterday,” said the disaster management chief of the ministry at an emergency meeting at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The ministry is currently attempting to secure an exclusive network for disaster-related communications and to increase the government budget for earthquake-resistant facilities, he added.
Also, President Park Geun-hye vowed in the Cabinet meeting to better equip key facilities, including the nation’s nuclear reactors, to withstand earthquakes in the future.
“Taking this quake as an important lesson, we should fundamentally review our disaster measures,” she told government officials, urging them to dispatch investigation teams to the disaster scenes.
By Bae Hyun-jung and news reports (tellme@heraldcorp.com)