88 Earthquakes of Magnitude 2.0 or Higher Last Year... 1.3 Times the 20-Year Average (Comprehensive)

Last Year's Increase, Aftershocks Impact of Gyeongju and Pohang Earthquakes

Earthquake Occurrence Trends by Year (Provided by Korea Meteorological Administration)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Last year, the number of earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or higher in South Korea was higher than the average of the past 20 years.

According to the '2019 Earthquake Yearbook' published by the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) on the 28th, earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 have been gradually decreasing since 2016, but last year, there were 88 occurrences, which is 1.3 times higher than the average of 69.6 times from 1999 to 2018.

A KMA official explained, "This is because aftershocks have continued to occur following the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake and the 2017 Pohang earthquake."

Among the earthquakes over magnitude 2.0 last year were aftershocks from the 2017 Pohang earthquake and the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake. The Pohang earthquake aftershock occurred on September 26 last year with a magnitude of 2.3, and the Gyeongju earthquake aftershocks occurred on January 10 (magnitude 2.5) and June 11 (magnitude 2.5) last year. 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 occurrences. This was followed by the East Sea with 129 occurrences and the West Sea with 108 occurrences.

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

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

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