A 3.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, on Wednesday. (Korea Meteorological Administration) A 3.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province on Wednesday, the weather agency said.
The quake struck the county, located about 150 kilometers south of Seoul, at 11:49 a.m. Wednesday at a latitude of 36.28 degrees north and a longitude of 127.76 degrees east, at a depth of 9 kilometers, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
The seismic intensity of the quake, which measures the degree of ground shaking at a given location, reached Level 4 in North Chungcheong Province, Level 3 in Daejeon, North Gyeongsang, North Jeolla and South Chungcheong provinces, and Level 2 in South Gyeongsang Province and Sejong City.
Under South Korea’s 12-level intensity scale, Level 4 indicates shaking that can be felt by many people indoors, wakes people up at night, or causes windows and dishes to rattle.
As of 12:20 p.m., fire authorities received 12 reports of tremors — 10 from North Chungcheong Province and one each from Daejeon and North Jeolla Province — but no damage occurred, according to news reports.
The latest quake was the third-strongest among the 63 earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 or higher that have struck the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding waters this year. The strongest occurred on May 5, when a magnitude 3.7 quake hit the sea about 52 kilometers northwest of Taean County, South Chungcheong Province.
cjh@heraldcorp.com