November 15, 2017 Earthquake: Pohang, South Korea

Ref #11946:

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake that was South Korea's second-strongest in decades damaged infrastructure, injured dozens of people and left about 1,500 homeless, officials said Thursday. No deaths have been reported since the quake rattled the southeastern coastal region around the port city of Pohang on Wednesday afternoon. As of Thursday morning, 1,536 people had been forced to evacuate their homes and 57 people were injured, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said in a statement.

More than 1,000 houses and dozens of other buildings and cars were damaged or destroyed, and cracks and other damage were found in military facilities, bridges, port facilities and water supply facilities. Media images showed crumbled walls piled on damaged cars, broken windows and cracks in buildings.

Ref #12112:

The magnitude-5.5 Pohang earthquake, the second largest in the country's modern history, struck the densely populated region on 15 November 2017, injuring 90 people and causing $52 million in damage. It crumbled walls, cracked roads, and collapsed old buildings. And, according to two studies published today in Science, it is likely the largest earthquake ever to be triggered by enhanced geothermal power.

"The Pohang earthquake was larger than any predicted by existing theories," Kim says. Although some initial measures placed the source of the quake several kilometers away from the plant, Kim's network revealed that the earthquake, and several of its foreshocks, all began right below the 4-kilometer-deep well used to inject water into the subsurface to create the plant's heating reservoir. Indeed, it appears likely that the well's high-pressure water lubricated an unknown fault in the rock, causing it to slip and triggering the quake, Kim says.

Ref #12152:

A moment magnitude (Mw) 5.4 earthquake occurred at the Pohang EGS site in southeastern Korea on 15 November 2017. The earthquake was the most damaging and the second-largest in magnitude in South Korea since the first seismograph was installed in 1905. The earthquake injured 90 people, and the estimated property damage was US$52 million (11). We present evidence that the Pohang earthquake was the largest induced event to have occurred at any EGS site worldwide. Moreover, this event indicates that injected fluid volumes much smaller than predicted by theory can trigger a relatively large earthquake, at least under the right set of conditions.

Ref #12393:

A rare earthquake in South Korea was triggered by the country's first experimental geothermal power plant, a team of government-commissioned experts said Wednesday.

The earthquake damaged about 2,000 private properties, the government said; 52 homes suffered severe damage and 157 had serious damage. Damage was also reported at 227 schools across the region. Dozens of people were injured and more than 1,500 were left homeless.

Ref #13020:

The post-disaster loss estimation made by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, South Korea, reported that the Pohang earthquake caused injuries to more than 90 people and caused damage to 2165 private houses, 227 school buildings, many roads, and 11 bridges. The estimated property damage was about US$75.8 million. This was the largest damaging earthquake reported since 1978.

An'gang, Kyongsangbuk, Korea (South) - CDI: 8; Heunghae, Kyongsangbuk, Korea (South) - CDI: 7; Eisen, Kyongsangbuk, Korea (South) - CDI: 7; Yeonil, Kyongsangbuk, Korea (South) - CDI: 7; Hoko, Kyongsangbuk, Korea (South) - CDI: 6 (reference #13456)

75 million USD economic loss (reference #13727)