Seoul, Nov 15 (AFP) A rare 5.4-magnitude earthquake hitSouth Korea's southeast today, the second most powerful quakeon record, in a country that seldom experiences significanttremors.
The quake, which was felt across much of the countryincluding in the capital Seoul, struck at the shallow depth ofnine kilometres near the southeastern industrial city ofPohang at around 2:30 pm, the Korea MeteorologicalAdministration said.
The Korean peninsula rarely has to worry aboutsignificant quakes.
But seismic activity is closely monitored because a spikein activity is often the first indication that North Korea hascarried out a nuclear test.
The South Korean port city of Pohang is the home to theheadquarters of Posco -- the country's top, and the world'sfourth largest, steelmaker.
Photos and video footage sent to local TV stations showedcrumbled street walls and furniture violently shaking insidepeople's homes.
Local nuclear reactors were operating without disruption,Yonhap news agency said, citing officials at Korea Hydro andNuclear Power.
The most quake recorded in the south was a 5.8-magnitudetremor that hit the southeastern city of Gyeongju in Septemberlast year.(AFP)AMS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.