The government will designate Pohang as a special disaster area after the southeastern city was struck on Wednesday by the country’s second most powerful earthquake on record.

During a media briefing Thursday on the magnitude five-point-four quake, Minister of the Interior and Safety Kim Boo-kyum said the government will take the necessary steps to declare Pohang a special disaster zone.

Describing his trip to the city Wednesday, the minister said the damage was more serious and widespread than he had anticipated.

Kim said the government will provide Pohang with special grants worth four billion won at the order of Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, adding the government will try to finalize the review process as quickly as possible.

It will mark the second time the government has designated a special disaster zone due to an earthquake, following the magnitude five-point-eight quake that hit Gyeongju in September of last year.

Under a special disaster zone status, affected residents receive benefits in their tax, health insurance and utility fee payments in the form of deductions or delayed deadlines. 

Special disaster zones can also receive state funds for up to 80 percent of restoration expenses. Under normal circumstances, those expenses are shouldered by provincial authorities.

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