"Should We Cancel Our Trip to Japan?"... Anxiety Spreads Amid Unsettling Series of Strong Earthquakes

A Series of Earthquakes Strikes Asia in October
"Recent Crustal Activity Intensifies Across Asia-Pacific... Korea Also Needs to Prepare"

In October, the Pacific Ring of Fire has shown alarming signs. A series of earthquakes with magnitudes above 5 have struck major regions in Asia, including the Philippines, Japan, and Taiwan, leading to growing anxiety among travelers planning trips to these areas.

Strong Earthquake Domino Across Asia: Philippines, Japan, and Taiwan Shaken

Photo from Japanese archives. Pixabay

Starting with a magnitude 6.9 earthquake off the north-northeast coast of Cebu in the Philippines on October 1, other countries along the Pacific Ring of Fire, such as Kamchatka in Russia (6.1) and Papua New Guinea (6.6), have also experienced significant tremors.

On October 8, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck off the south-southwest coast of Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan, followed by a magnitude 5.0 quake off the eastern coast of Hualien, Taiwan, on the same day. On October 10, a powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit the eastern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines, prompting a tsunami warning and causing reported damage to roads and communication networks. Subsequently, in the early hours of October 13, another magnitude 5.8 earthquake was recorded off the coast near Cebu.

All of these regions are located where the Pacific Plate, the Philippine Plate, and the Indo-Australian Plate converge-an area known as the Pacific seismic belt, where over 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur. In this region, tectonic stress builds up steadily due to plate movements, and when this energy is released all at once, it results in major earthquakes.

As earthquakes continue to occur, online communities and social networking services (SNS) have been flooded with posts such as, "The whole of Asia feels unstable these days," and "It might be better to postpone overseas travel for now." Especially after the magnitude 5.2 earthquake in southern Japan on October 8, concerns have been spreading among those planning trips to Japan, with some saying, "A bigger earthquake could happen soon." Domestic travel communities are seeing a surge in posts from people considering canceling their trips to Japan, reflecting the growing sense of unease.

"Long-Term Preparedness Needed in Korea and Neighboring Regions"

Experts believe that these earthquakes are not a chain reaction along a single fault, but rather the result of stress accumulated across the entire Ring of Fire being released around the same time. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) stated, "These earthquakes occurred independently at different plate boundaries, but recent changes in stress distribution across the Ring of Fire have been widely observed."

Experts have warned, "Crustal activity across the Asia-Pacific region has become generally more active in recent times," and emphasized that "long-term preparedness is necessary in Korea and neighboring regions as well."