Winter Olympics 2018: Pyeongchang hit with earthquake, strong winds and fire on Sunday
Pyeongchang, the city of the Winter Olympics 2018, has been hit by an earthquake measuring 4.7 in magnitude along with strong winds and warnings of a high-risk fire that also disrupted events. Visitors at the outdoor events were stuck in biting cold as it came to ranked as the coldest Olympic ever.
People in South Korea have always been used to the earthquakes as the country is in a region that witnesses a large number of earthquakes on an annual basis. However, it did not stop the visitors from all around the globe get the shock of their lives as an earthquake of 4.7 magnitudes hit the region of Pyeongchang late on Saturday night.
A strong tremor was felt by the US Geological Survey was felt at a distance of about 260 kilometres (160 miles) away from the games. To further compound the extreme conditions, an alert warning of a high risk of fire, and
Organisers, however, offered assurances that the 2018 Winter Games event was at no risk from earthquakes, with venues built to withstand even strong tremors.
"All the facilities in the Games area are built so they can withstand strong earthquakes over 7.0. so I assure you there was no issue regarding these facilities," said Sung Baik-you, according to sources of AFP.
Early on Sunday morning, ski officials were forced to delay the showpiece men's downhill event until Thursday as buffeting winds made the high-speed slope extremely dangerous for competition. Later on, the women's slopestyle snowboarding also fell victim to the wind, as the qualifiers were called off with riders going straight into the final on Monday.
Temperatures are predicted to plunge to -14 degrees Celsius (6.8 Fahrenheit) on Monday, as people would be shivering at -25C in the strong, mountainside wind. Austria's Michael Hayboeck stated ‘it was cold as ice up there’ due to extreme weather conditions.
"People are advised to dress warmly and wear hats and gloves to keep themselves warm," warned Sung Baik-you, spokesman for the Games organisers.