Inspection of Seismic Safety of Facilities Following the Turkey Earthquake
[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety issued an urgent facility inspection plan on the morning of the 9th to central government agencies and local governments regarding the seismic reinforcement status of public facilities, following the Turkey earthquake (magnitude 7.8) that occurred on the 6th. An emergency inspection meeting on earthquake disaster prevention policies was held, chaired by Choi Myung-gyu, Director of Disaster Management Policy, with key related organizations.
At the emergency inspection meeting, domestic earthquake disaster prevention policies were reviewed, and discussions were held on urgent facility inspections and policy reinforcement measures. The participating organizations agreed to actively cooperate in promoting earthquake disaster prevention policies going forward.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to conduct a central sample inspection after a full inspection by relevant agencies of the seismic reinforcement projects for public facilities promoted by central and local governments last year, in order to accurately grasp the seismic reflection status of public facilities.
To activate seismic reinforcement of private buildings, the Ministry requested related ministries to actively review the status inspection of mandatory seismic performance evaluations for private buildings under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 'Facility Safety Act,' as well as plans to expand the scope of mandatory seismic performance evaluations for private buildings considering their use and scale, and a full survey of seismic status in private universities.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to conduct joint drills and participatory evacuation drills to strengthen earthquake disaster response capabilities.
The Korea Meteorological Administration is strengthening the monitoring system by inspecting earthquake information delivery systems such as the 24-hour real-time monitoring through the national earthquake observation network, earthquake early warning system, and earthquake notification system.
Since 2015, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has been establishing comprehensive earthquake disaster prevention plans every five years. Currently, the '2nd Comprehensive Earthquake Disaster Prevention Plan' is underway, and the '3rd Comprehensive Earthquake Disaster Prevention Plan' is scheduled to be established this year.
Choi Myung-gyu, Director of Disaster Management Policy at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, “Earthquakes are disasters that are difficult to predict, so prior preparation is very important. We ask for continuous interest and cooperation to ensure that earthquake disaster prevention policies, seismic reinforcement projects, and response system establishment proceed without any setbacks by each ministry and relevant agency.”
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