The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) recorded a magnitude 2.6 earthquake on May 5 that occurred at around 2:12 PM, 52 kilometers south off the coast of Jongju, North Pyongan Province.
Days earlier, on Apr. 30, South Korea’s Korea Herald, citing the KMA, had reported a magnitude 3.1 quake on the Korean Peninsula, which struck the South’s North Chungchong Province 149 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
The latter was the third strongest earthquake on the Korean Peninsula and in the surrounding waters this year. So far in 2023, 37 quakes of magnitude 2.0 or higher have occurred in the region.
46 earthquakes annually
Earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 2.5 are defined as “very minor” on the Moment Magnitude Scale (MMS) and are hardly perceivable to humans, but can be measured with a seismograph. “Minor” quakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 3.9, on the other hand, are often noticed but cause only light damage.
Since 1978, the KMA has recorded a total of 2024 earthquakes in and around the Korean Peninsula – an annual average of 46. Shocks with a magnitude of 3.0 or more occur about 10 times per year.
Edited by Robert Lauler.
