Earthquakes of Magnitude 3.0 to 3.5, Sent via 'Safety Alert' Text Messages

An earthquake complex disaster field drill linked to the 2018 Disaster Response Safety Korea Training is being conducted at the Seoul Nonghyup Central Association headquarters. The drill assumed a scenario where a magnitude 6.0 strong earthquake occurs in the center of Seoul, causing partial building collapse, power outages, gas explosions, and large fires. During the drill, firefighters are busily rescuing the injured. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] When an inland earthquake with a magnitude between 3.0 and 3.5 occurs, a text message in the form of a 'safety advisory' rather than an 'emergency disaster' will be sent.

The Korea Meteorological Administration announced on the 13th that it will newly establish a safety advisory text message service for safety caution and preparedness purposes, which will be implemented starting in July.

The safety advisory messages target earthquakes of smaller magnitude that have a low possibility of damage and require precise analysis, which may take some time to notify. This applies to inland earthquakes with a magnitude between 3.0 and 3.5, and offshore earthquakes with a magnitude between 3.5 and 4.0.

This is distinguished from the disaster-purpose text messages previously provided. Emergency disaster messages are sent for earthquakes with a magnitude between 3.5 and less than 6.0, and earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.0 or higher are classified as 'critical disasters' and trigger text message alerts.

The Korea Meteorological Administration stated, "It is expected to reduce anxiety caused by the frequent sending of earthquake disaster text messages for earthquakes with minimal damage."