Thud! Thud! Disaster Alert Immediately... Citizens Startled by 4.1 Earthquake Shaking Weekend Morning

Magnitude 4.1 Earthquake Occurs in Goesan, Chungbuk... Tremors Felt in Seoul Metropolitan Area and Gangwon
KMA Sends Emergency Disaster Text Nationwide Simultaneously with Earthquake Alert

On the 29th, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake occurred in Jangyeon-myeon, Goesan-gun, Chungbuk, and a resident reported that a house wall had cracked. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] The earthquake that occurred on a weekend morning in Goesan, Chungbuk, was detected in various parts of the country, startling many citizens.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on the 29th, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake occurred around 8:27:49 a.m. northeast of Goesan-gun, Chungbuk, 11 km away (Jogok-ri, Jangyeon-myeon). This is the first time in about 10 months since a magnitude 4.9 earthquake occurred 41 km southwest of Seogwipo-si, Jeju, on December 14 last year.

Citizens in the Chungcheong area who felt strong tremors were startled, and inquiries from citizens continued to the fire department and other authorities. A resident of Guwol-ri, Gam-mul-myeon, Goesan-gun, told Yonhap News, "There was a sound like a bomb exploding, and the house shook a lot," adding, "This is the first time I have felt such a strong tremor in my life."

Tremors were also detected in the metropolitan area and some parts of Gangwon. On social networking services (SNS), posts from citizens reporting feeling the earthquake in Incheon, Wonju, Taebaek, and other places were posted one after another. They reacted with comments such as "I was lying in bed, and after receiving the disaster alert, the bed shook," "The remote control on the dining table shook," "I was sitting in the living room and felt vibrations like a subway passing under my feet," "The disaster alert came right after the thudding sound," and "I thought it was a war."

Fortunately, no earthquake damage cases have been reported to the fire department so far. The Fire Agency stated that by 2 p.m. on the day, 168 earthquake-related reports and inquiries had been received, but there were no dispatches or damage situations.

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake occurred at around 8:27 a.m. on the 29th, 11 km northeast of Goesan-gun, Chungbuk. Photo by Yonhap News

On that day, the emergency disaster alert was sent nationwide simultaneously with the earthquake bulletin. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the first seismic wave reached the Angseong observation station in Chungju-si 5 seconds after the earthquake occurred, at 8:27:54 a.m. Then, the earthquake bulletin sent mainly to local governments and related agencies was issued 23 seconds after the first observation, at 8:28:17 a.m. In other words, the emergency disaster alert was sent to the entire nation's mobile phones 28 seconds after the earthquake occurred.

Until now, earthquake bulletins for earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.5 and less than 5.0 have been notified within 20 to 40 seconds after the first observation. However, in April, the Korea Meteorological Administration announced that it would shorten the bulletin announcement time to 5 to 10 seconds after the first observation for earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.0 and less than 5.0.

If the earthquake bulletin announcement is expedited, the number of areas that can receive the bulletin before the arrival of the S-wave, which causes relatively greater damage among seismic waves, will increase. If the bulletin is issued 40 seconds after observation, areas within a 129 km radius from the epicenter cannot receive the bulletin before the S-wave arrives, but if the bulletin is issued 10 seconds after observation, that range is reduced to within a 39 km radius.

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