Gyeongbuk Office of Education Launches 'KMA Earthquake Information' Automated Voice Service in 10 Pohang Schools

Buildings and land cracked, windows shattered... Earthquake damage in Pohang shared on social media.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] The Gyeongbuk Provincial Office of Education announced on the 24th that it will pilot and operate an information dissemination system directly linked with the Korea Meteorological Administration's earthquake notification system for 10 schools in the Pohang area this year.

The 'Automatic Earthquake Information Delivery Service' quickly transmits earthquake information through a primary connection between the Korea Meteorological Administration and the Office of Education, then reconnected to the Pohang Education Support Office relay system, and finally delivered via the schools' broadcasting systems.

This direct linkage of earthquake information aims to establish a rapid earthquake information delivery system for schools where mobile phone use is difficult, thereby reducing the time taken to deliver earthquake information. The Gyeongbuk Office of Education is also promoting additional connections for one kindergarten, five elementary schools, and three middle schools in the Gyeongju area.

Shim Won-woo, Director of Educational Safety at the Gyeongbuk Office of Education, said, "This earthquake information dissemination system directly linked with the Korea Meteorological Administration will greatly help ensure students' safety," adding, "We will continue to strive to thoroughly prepare for unexpected disaster situations."

Meanwhile, according to data from the Korea Meteorological Administration, earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 or higher (excluding maritime areas) have occurred 655 times on the Korean Peninsula from 2010 to July 2020. There were 219 occurrences in 2016, 166 in 2017, 64 in 2018, 45 in 2019, and 27 up to July 2020.

The largest earthquakes by magnitude were the magnitude 5.8 earthquake that occurred in Gyeongju at 8:32 p.m. on September 12, 2016, followed by the magnitude 5.4 earthquake that occurred in Pohang at 2:29 p.m. on November 15, 2017.

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