User:Aakarsh01/2017 Pohang earthquake

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The 2017 Pohang earthquake, measuring magnitude 5.4 on the Richter magnitude scale, struck Heunghae, Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea on November 15, 2017 with an epicenter about 4 miles north of the main metropolitan part of the city and about 5 miles inland. It is tied with the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake as the country's strongest earthquake in modern history, and the most destructive ever recorded with "an estimated 300 billion won (US$290 million) in damage."

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The mainly caused fault of this earthquake was under debate; initially Yangsan Fault was thought to be the cause of this earthquake, however days later Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) announced that Jangsa fault - a branch fault of Yangsan fault - is main cause of the earthquake. However, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) analyzed that the unknown fault caused this earthquake. Water injection in the ground by the geothermal plant in Pohang might have also triggered the earthquake. Researchers featured by the Seismological Society of America in 2023 found that fluid injection resulted in the fault slip.

Rupture Process of the earthquake

The earthquake is known as a "runaway earthquake", where a chain reaction occurs: the slipping generates heat and more slipping occurs. The fault ruptured in 3 distinct steps, all occurring within 6 seconds, "In each step, the seismic moment was released as approximately 6%, 59%, and 35%, respectively."

Damages from the earthquake

In Pohang, North Gyeongsang, about half of the populace has filed claims for damages from "human-made" earthquakes in 2017 and 2018 against the government and associated businesses. According to a Pohang civic committee, 170,000 or more people filed complaints in November of 2023 after a court determined that the government and businesses, such as Posco, must provide compensation to the locals. Both the Nov. 15, 2017, earthquake in Pohang and the Feb. 11, 2018, aftershock are thought to have been caused by the government's geothermal power trials in the region .

The Daegu District Court decided in November of 2023 that the plaintiffs had to compensate the locals with damages ranging from 2 million to 3 million won ($1,542 to $2,313). Almost 1,800 persons were displaced by the 2017 earthquake. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety estimated that the cost of repairing the damage would be around 144.5 billion won, while the Bank of Korea said that the earthquake had damaged 57,000 structures.Posco and the Korean Government Legal Service challenged the decision on behalf of the government. The Pohang civic organization has filed an appeal, seeking 10 million won in damages for each individual. Including the 50,000 people who took part in the first trial, some 220,000 residents have filed claims for damages. That amounts to over half of Pohang's five hundred thousand inhabitants .

Social Fallout from the Earthquake

The Pohang local government is requesting that the national assembly and the central government work closely together to draft special legislation that identifies and compensates the victims of the 2017 Pohang earthquake, as more and more citizens are joining the lawsuits. This is a more effective course of action than having to deal with a plethora of lawsuits. Nearly 80% of Pohang residents, according to Mayor Lee Gang-deok, complain about mental health issues, and 42% are currently dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. As a result, the special law ought to fully treat the emotional and bodily pain caused by the earthquake. Although bills have been presented for the National Assembly's consideration, discussions over the specifics of the legislation are still underway . By 2019, a large number of the residents displaced by the earthquake were still living in tents in gymnasiums, because some buildings were considered unstable.