North Korea: Earthquake aftershocks near Ring of Fire faultlines raise fears of MEGA QUAKE
NORTH Korean citizens have been warned to expect “large aftershocks” for months following the 5.4-magnitude tremor that struck South Korea on Wednesday.
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Experts have pointed to a previous earthquake in 1978 that caused months of carnage.
Lee Mi-sun, a Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) official, said: “When 5-magnitude or more powerful earthquakes occur, large and small aftershocks usually continue for months.
“A few aftershocks will follow this time too.”
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KMA is currently investigating to judge exactly which fault plane is to blame for the latest rumble.
Initial estimates point at the Yangsan Fault, the most prominent fault plane in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula.
Further experts suggest another more powerful earthquake could strike at any moment.
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Sohn Moon, a professor of geology and environmental science at Pusan National University, said: "Gyeongju was struck with a bigger quake a week after a slightly less powerful quake (5.1 magnitude) had hit the region.”
Experts warned that powerful earthquakes could result in mass casualties as many buildings are not built to withstand them.
The country is no stranger to gentle tremors of magnitude 2.0, but rarely experiences quakes of 5.0 or above.
South Korea has been relatively safe from major earthquakes, but geologists have expressed concern over the rising number of tremors felt in recent years and warned of bigger seismic movements to come.
When the earthquake hit on Wednesday it shook buildings and caused books to fall from shelves sending tremors as far as Seoul – kilometres away from where it struck.
Mark Zastrow, who lives in Seoul, tweeted: “Woah, an earthquake in Pohang and just felt it in Seoul, a few seconds after I got the alert on my phone.”
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According to a US Geological Survey (USGS) chart the intensity, tremors from the earthquake would have been felt in North Korea.
The head of the nuclear test monitoring agency CTBTO has said that its analysts were “looking at unusual seismic activity” in North Korea.
