Busan City Strengthens Education and Promotion of 'Earthquake Citizen Action Guidelines'

Unexpected Earthquake... Importance of Regular Preparedness

Minimizing Damage Following the Turkiye Strong Earthquake

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan City, in response to the recent earthquake that struck southern T?rkiye and Syria causing numerous casualties, is taking this opportunity to strengthen the promotion and education of the ‘Earthquake Citizen Action Guidelines’ to prepare for earthquake occurrences.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, since earthquake observations began in 1978 until 2022, there have been a total of 2,101 earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 or higher in South Korea, with 19 occurrences within a 50 km radius of Busan City.

The largest earthquake recorded domestically was the magnitude 5.8 ‘9.12 Earthquake’ that occurred in Gyeongju in 2016, followed by a magnitude 5.4 earthquake in Pohang in 2017. Last year, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake occurred in Goesan, Chungbuk, but it did not affect the Busan area.

Many experts in academia have stated that since the ‘9.12 Earthquake,’ South Korea is no longer a safe zone from earthquakes, and based on the distribution of epicenters observed so far, earthquakes can occur anywhere in the country.

The city emphasized that since earthquakes can strike Busan unexpectedly, it is very important to prepare for earthquakes in advance and to familiarize oneself with the citizen action guidelines.

Actions to Take in Case of an Earthquake by Situation.

The main points of the Earthquake Citizen Action Guidelines are ▲ when an earthquake occurs, protect yourself by taking cover under a table or similar furniture, and if there is nowhere to hide, protect your head with nearby cushions or bags ▲ secure furniture and home appliances in advance to prevent them from falling during shaking, and be cautious of easily falling items such as decorations and flower vases ▲ after the earthquake stops, cut off electricity and gas. Detailed earthquake citizen action guidelines can be found on the Busan City website and official social networking services (SNS).

In particular, the city has posted earthquake action guidelines in 12 languages, including English, Chinese, and Japanese, on the Busan City website’s ‘Earthquake Citizen Action Guidelines’ page so that foreign residents in Busan can also learn the guidelines.

The city is cooperating with the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education to expand experiential education on the earthquake citizen action guidelines and is also discussing the promotion of ‘visiting earthquake action guideline education’ targeting 16 districts/counties and frontline schools.

Furthermore, the city plans to review its earthquake disaster prevention plan, including public education and promotion, prevention projects, and response system inspections, taking the recent T?rkiye earthquake as an opportunity.

Through this, ▲ the city aims to achieve a 100% seismic reinforcement rate of public facilities by 2035, up from the current 74.1%, which has increased by about 20% since 2016 ▲ earthquake drills will be conducted in the first half of the year to verify the operation of the earthquake response system in actual situations.

▲ The Earthquake and Volcanic Disaster Prevention Policy Committee will gather expert opinions on issues and countermeasures ▲ cooperation with academia, such as the Disaster Safety Research Institute’s Earthquake Disaster Prevention Center, will continue for earthquake damage prediction.

Source=Korea Meteorological Administration.

A city official stated, “First, we express our deep sympathy and condolences to the people of T?rkiye who suffered great damage from the unexpected T?rkiye earthquake,” and added, “Since earthquakes are unpredictable disasters, individuals must prepare for earthquakes in advance and familiarize themselves with the action guidelines to minimize casualties in emergencies. We ask all citizens to be sure to learn the Earthquake Citizen Action Guidelines, and Busan City will do its best to prevent earthquake disaster damage through seismic reinforcement, education, and training.”