More than 50 people were injured and 1,500 taken to shelters in South Korea after a rare magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit the southeastern port of Pohang on Wednesday, officials said yesterday.
The second-most powerful quake recorded in the nation hit at a shallow depth of 9km on Wednesday afternoon, sparking alarm in a nation that rarely experiences significant tremors.
The quake, which was felt across the nation, including in the capital, Seoul, damaged nearly 1,100 homes and more than 100 schools, the South Korean Ministry of Public Safety and Security said in a statement.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Roads, and public and military facilities were also damaged, while 57 people were left injured and 1,536 seeking shelter outside their home, it said — adding that no deaths had been reported.
It came about a year after the nation’s most powerful earthquake to date, a magnitude 5.8 tremor that struck another southeastern city, Gyeongju, in September last year.
Photographs of the aftermath of Wednesday’s quake showed damaged homes, shattered storefronts and cars smashed by fallen bricks.
One video posted on social media showed dozens of students screaming and fleeing in panic as a large brick facade crumbled and fell off the top of a campus building.
As dozens of aftershocks continued to rattle Pohang, Seoul late on Wednesday announced the unusual decision to postpone the nation’s nationwide college entrance exams — scheduled for yesterday — by a week.
The annual event is closely watched by the whole nation, which falls silent on the day to help teenagers focus on the test, whose results could define their future in the hyper-competitive society.
It was the second time the test has been postponed since 1992, when several test papers were found missing a day before the exam, forcing authorities to delay the event by several weeks.
The Korean Peninsula, unlike neighboring Japan, rarely experiences significant earthquakes, but seismic activity is closely monitored because a spike in activity is often the first indication that North Korea has staged a nuclear test.
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS