An quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 jolted southeastern South Korea, the biggest-ever striking the country, about an hour after a 5.1-magnitude tremor occurred, local media outlets reported on Monday, citing the country’s weather agency. The epicenter was located about nine km (5.5 miles) southwest of the city.
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As of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, some 250 aftershocks followed, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) which forecast secondary shocks of two to four magnitudes would last for three to four days.
Concerns emerge here that South Korea is no longer a safety zone from seismic activity as earthquakes of 5.0 magnitudes or higher have happened three times in 2016 alone. An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government said the second tremor felt like a magnitude-2 natural disaster in the capital city. Two people have been reported injured, he said, citing data from emergency rescue authorities.
Investigations were carried out to assess the damage to ports in the area, so far no major damage has been reported; nuclear stations and an LNG station were also affected by the natural disaster.
Nonetheless, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co shut down four nuclear reactors at the Wolsong complex in Gyeongju as a precaution.
Koreans living near the nuclear power plant in Gyeongju city also voiced anxiety.
The government said it set up the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to better collect damage reports and get a better grasp of the situation.
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Kakaotalk, the country’s largest mobile app, which is used by 40 million people, partially went down, the company said, as users rushed to exchange messages in the aftermath of the quake.
