Magnitude 4.0 Earthquake in Gyeongju at Dawn... "No Abnormalities at Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant"

In the early morning of the 30th, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake and eight aftershocks occurred in Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk. The earthquake took place only 10 km away from the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, but there was no damage to the plant.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, is presiding over a meeting on the 30th at the Seoul Situation Center in the Government Seoul Office Building regarding the magnitude 4.0 earthquake that occurred 19 km southeast of Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, at around 4:55 a.m. that day, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake occurred 19 km southeast of Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk (Munmu Daewang-myeon, Gyeongju-si). The estimated focal depth was 12 km. Within 2 hours and 30 minutes after the earthquake, eight aftershocks followed, with the largest magnitude being 1.7.

The "instrumental intensity," which indicates the degree of shaking felt in each region, was 5 in Gyeongbuk, 4 in Ulsan, and 3 in Gyeongnam and Busan. An instrumental intensity of 3 means that people indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings, feel the shaking distinctly, and stationary cars shake slightly. At 4, many people indoors feel the earthquake, some wake up at night, and dishes and windows shake. At 5, almost everyone feels the vibration, dishes and windows break, and unstable objects fall over.

The Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, located 10.1 km from the epicenter, was unaffected. Seismic measurements at Wolseong Units 1, 2, and 3 showed a maximum value of 0.0421, which is below the seismic design value of 0.2. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission explained that no abnormalities were found during emergency inspections. The Gyeongju radioactive waste disposal facility also showed a seismic measurement of 0.0716 with no abnormalities detected. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power stated, "There is no disruption to nuclear power plant operations related to the earthquake."

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) activated Emergency Level 1. As of 6 a.m. that day, a total of 107 reports and safety inquiries were received. By region, there were 49 in Gyeongbuk, 40 in Ulsan, 10 in Daegu, 6 in Busan, 1 in Chungnam, and 1 in Jeonbuk. The CDSCH reported that there have been no reports of casualties or property damage so far.

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