A Total of 88 Earthquakes of Magnitude 2.0 or Higher Last Year... Daegu and Gyeongbuk Most Frequent Except Offshore Areas

KMA Publishes '2019 Earthquake Yearbook'
14 Earthquakes of Magnitude 3.0 Recorded, Higher Than Average Occurrence

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] A total of 88 earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 or higher occurred in South Korea last year.

The Korea Meteorological Administration published the "2019 Earthquake Yearbook" containing this analysis on the 28th.

Although earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 have gradually decreased since 2016, the number was 1.3 times higher than the average (69.6 times from 1999 to 2018). Among these, one aftershock from the 2017 Pohang earthquake and two aftershocks from the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake were included. Excluding offshore areas, Daegu and Gyeongbuk recorded the highest number with 11 occurrences.

There were a total of 957 microearthquakes below magnitude 2.0, with Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions experiencing the most at 260 times. This was followed by the East Sea with 129 times and the West Sea with 108 times.

There were 14 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0, which can be actually felt, 10.9 times higher than the average.

The largest earthquake last year occurred on April 19 at 11:16 AM, with a magnitude of 4.3 in the offshore area 54 km northeast of Donghae City, Gangwon Province. This earthquake recorded a maximum seismic intensity of 4 in Gangwon Province, 3 in Gyeongbuk, and 2 in Gyeonggi and Chungbuk, and felt reports were received as far as the Seoul metropolitan area.

The Earthquake Yearbook has been published annually since 2001 and is available on the Korea Meteorological Administration website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.