62 injured, 1,500 displaced by Pohang quake
Volunteers deliver relief items to the earthquake victims at Heunghae Stadium in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. / Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
Sixty-two people were injured and more than 1,500 have been displaced by the magnitude 5.4 quake that rattled Korea’s southeastern city of Pohang Wednesday, the government said Thursday.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, 11 people still remain hospitalized and 51 others have returned to their homes after treatment.
After the first and most powerful quake struck the city, about 45 aftershocks continued to shake the area erratically, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.
A magnitude 3.6 tremor ― the strongest aftershock from the quake ― hit the area once again Thursday morning, scaring many people who were still terrified.
After the quake seriously damaged many buildings, including apartments and schools, 1,536 people have been staying in 27 temporary shelters set up across the city.
The ministry noted 1,208 houses were damaged; three were completely destroyed and 219 others were seriously damaged. The ministry is checking the rest of the houses in order to determine whether they are safe to return to.
A total of 32 schools, including Handong Global University, the city’s water supply and sewer system are among other affected facilities.
Some of the national treasures, including Gyeongju Girimsa Temple, suffered minor damage too. Kim Jong-jin, head of Cultural Heritage Administration, went to Pohang the next day on the site inspection.
As rescue workers continue responding to emergency calls, the size of the damage may turn out to be bigger. Thousands of calls flooded regional fire stations across the nation following the quake.
Some buildings appear to be on the verge of collapsing and many others look better but still unstable.
The quake revealed that Korea is ill-prepared for such natural disasters. Only 35 percent of Pohang’s all 328 kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools are designed to quake-resistant, according to the ministry.
The quake immediately disabled some of the oldest schools, which left the government with no other choice but to postpone the national college entrance test, which was scheduled for Thursday, to next week.
Pohang is not particularly vulnerable. The safety ministry said only 23.1 percent of schools across the country are quake-resistant.
Among other public facilities, such as nuclear power plants, dams and government buildings, 43.7 percent are quake-resistant.
For many decades, Koreans did not feel the need for seismic design. In a country that rarely experiences strong quakes, builders did not have any reason to spend more money for the same-looking buildings.
But last year’s 5.8 magnitude quake in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, made people aware of the dangers of quakes here. It was the most powerful seismic activity since the country started monitoring tremors in 1978.
After the quake, the safety ministry said it will come up with a long-term plan to prepare the country for future quakes.