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On the evening of the 19th, a magnitude 4.6 earthquake occurred off the east coast of Ulsan.

Although it was the most powerful earthquake that occurred in the waters near Korea this year, there was no major damage because it was far from inland.



This is UBC reporter Shin Hye-ji.



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Yesterday at 8:40 pm, a magnitude 4.6 earthquake occurred in the eastern sea of ​​Ulsan.



The epicenter is a sea area 144 km east of Dong-gu, Ulsan, and the epicenter is 10 km below the sea floor.



According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, a tremor of magnitude 2 was transmitted to Ulsan and Gyeongsangbuk-do due to the earthquake.



Seismic intensity 2 is a level at which shaking can be felt indoors, such as on the upper floors of buildings.



However, due to the distance and the occurrence on the shore, there were no overnight earthquake detections or reports of damage.



In particular, the Saeul Nuclear Power Plant said that there were no problems with the safety and operation of the nuclear power plant due to the earthquake.



An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 or greater occurred in Ulsan six years ago.



In July 2016, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurred 52 km east of Ulsan, and in September, magnitude 5.8 and 5.1 earthquakes occurred 8 km southwest of Gyeongju.



It was much closer to the epicenter than the earthquake and caused great damage.



Experts do not yet know the cause of the earthquake, but they cautioned that aftershocks could occur in the next week to a month.



[Byeongmin Kim/Professor of Urban and Environmental Engineering at UNIST: If an earthquake occurs, an aftershock is sure to occur.

Since it is an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6 or greater, the possibility of aftershocks is very high.

However, the magnitude of the aftershock is likely to be smaller than 4.6.]



After the earthquake off the coast of Ulsan in 2016, an earthquake of 4.0 or higher occurred in Pohang in 2017 and Jeju Island last year.



The Korea Meteorological Administration said the earthquake was the first this year to be 4.0 or higher, the joint 19th largest on record.