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| ▲ This composite photo depicts an earthquake. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This captured image from the Korea Meteorological Administration shows the epicenter of an earthquake that struck central South Korea on Oct. 29, 2022. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
(3rd LD) earthquake-Goesan
(3rd LD) 4.1 magnitude earthquake strikes central South Korea, the country's strongest this year
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with depth of quake, reactions by citizens, more details from KMA report)
SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- A 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck South Korea's central county of Goesan on Saturday, the weather agency said, with no damage or casualties reported so far.
The quake occurred in the village of Jangyeon, northeastern Goesan of North Chungcheong Province, at 8:27 a.m. with an estimated depth of 12 kilometers, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
The KMA initially announced the earthquake's measured strength at 4.3 but later revised it to 4.1.
It marks the strongest earthquake ever to hit the Korean Peninsula this year and the 38th largest of all time in the country. It also was the strongest quake following a 4.9 magnitude one that hit waters off Seogwipo on the southern resort island of Jeju on Dec. 14 last year.
The 4.1 magnitude quake was preceded by three foreshocks of magnitude 1.6, 1.3 and 3.5, all minutes before the larger one was reported, according to the KMA. There were 12 aftershocks reported until 10 a.m., it added.
According to officials, a 5 magnitude tremor was apparently noticed throughout the province.
The central disaster management headquarters said it has yet to receive any reports of damage or casualties while the National Fire Agency said it has received 65 reports nationwide so far that they detected it.
In such adjacent cites of Cheongju and Chungju, some citizens hastily escaped to safety out of their homes after experiencing relatively large tremors.
"I heard a sound of a bomb explosion and the house shook a lot," a resident of Goesan told Yonhap News Agency. "Although the furniture did not fall off, it was the first time in my life that I experienced this big of a shake from an earthquake."
The tremors were apparently sensed even from Seoul, 110 kilometers away from Goesan, with some citizens reporting to the fire authorities that they felt the ground shake for about two seconds.
President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed all government offices related with disaster management affairs to apprehend possible damage from the quakes, including any disruptions to infrastructure facilities such as electricity and communications, his spokesperson said in a written press briefing.
Including the two latest tremors, 61 quakes with a magnitude of 2 or higher have struck the country since the beginning of the year, with most of them milder than a magnitude of 3.
The largest earthquake that has been reported within a 50-kilometer radius of the epicenter of Saturday's tremors since 1978 was a 5.2 magnitude one that occurred in September of that year.
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