Interior ministry maintains earthquake alert for Haenam County

The interior ministry said Monday it would maintain an earthquake crisis alert at the caution level in Haenam County after experts judged a series of tremors there unlikely to lead to a major quake.

Since Aug. 14, Haenam has recorded 72 small quakes, including seven of magnitude 2.0 or greater. A magnitude 3.1 tremor on Aug. 23 produced a maximum observed intensity of IV; no damage reports have been received.

Specialists said the quakes resulted from fault movement under stress in the Korean Peninsula's lower crust, at roughly 20 km. They cited a similar sequence in Haenam in 2020 and agreed that monitoring should be strengthened while preparedness drills and work to improve facilities' earthquake resistance continue.

The interior ministry raised the alert from attention to caution on Aug. 23 and activated an emergency response team. It plans a joint tabletop drill for relevant agencies based on a hypothetical major earthquake in Haenam.

"Experts judge that a major earthquake is unlikely in Haenam County, but relevant agencies should maintain emergency readiness and thoroughly manage the situation for the time being in preparation for any eventuality," said Kim Yong-gyun, head of natural disasters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The ministry is pursuing a 100% earthquake-resistance rate for public facilities by 2035, with a target of 84.6% this year. It has designated 11,366 outdoor earthquake evacuation sites and 680 emergency evacuation sites for tsunamis, with inspections conducted twice a year.

The Korea Meteorological Administration has operated an on-site earthquake warning service since May and is expanding real-time earthquake-warning links to disaster-response agencies.