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M 6.9 - HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION

Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 00:20:52 UTC
Location: 42.0°N 143.6°E  Depth: 35km
Alert version 2

Summary

[PDF | Additional Information]

Estimated Population Exposed to Earthquake Shaking

Est. Modified
Mercalli Intensity
Est. Population
Exposure (k = x1000)
Perceived ShakingPotential Structure Damage
ResistantVulnerable
X0ExtremeV. HeavyV. Heavy
IX0ViolentHeavyV. Heavy
VIII0SevereModerate/HeavyHeavy
VII0Very StrongModerateModerate/Heavy
VI0StrongLightModerate
V72kModerateV. LightLight
IV1,310kLightNoneNone
II-III4,944k*WeakNoneNone
I--*Not FeltNoneNone
*Estimated exposure only includes population within the map area.

Population Exposure
 Population per ˜1 square km from Landscan 2005
Population Exposure
Selected City Exposure

MMICityPopulation
VShizunai22k
IVObihiro173k
IVOtofuke40k
IVKushiro183k
IVSapporo1883k
IVMisawa42k
IIIShibetsu21k
IIIHachinohe239k
IIIHakodate275k
IIIAsahikawa356k
IIIAomori298k
Shaking Intensity
    MMI
Shakemap

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake resistant construction. A magnitude 7.6 earthquake 125 km Northeast of this one struck Japan on January 15, 1993 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 461,000 at intensity VIII and 608,000 at intensity VII, resulting in an estimated 2 fatalities. On July 12, 1993 (UTC), a magnitude 7.7 earthquake and tsunami 373 km Northeast of this one struck Hokkaido Nansei-Oki, Japan, with estimated population exposures of 4,000 at intensity VIII and 84,000 at intensity VII, resulting in an estimated 230 fatalities. Recent earthquakes in this area have caused, landslides and fires that may have contributed to losses.


 

PAGER results are generally available on the Internet within 30 minutes of the earthquake's occurrence. However, information on the extent of shaking will be uncertain in the minutes and hours following an earthquake and typically improves as additional sensor data and reported intensities are acquired and incorporated into models of the earthquake's source. Users of PAGER exposure estimates should account for uncertainty and always seek the most current PAGER release for any earthquake.

Maps

[Population | Shakemap]
Population Exposure

Map of MMI contours plotted over population per ˜1 square km (see gray scale bar on top of map). The regions of integer MMI values are separated by the thick contour lines and labeled with Roman numerals. The total population exposure to a given MMI value is obtained by summing the population between the thick contour lines. This total is shown in population exposure table.

Shakemap

Map of shaking intensity. This map shows the estimated MMI as a continuous color scale. The ground shaking estimates can be obtained from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/shakemap/global/shake/2008wvag.

Exposure

Est. Modified
Mercalli Intensity
Est. Population
Exposure (k = x1000)
Perceived ShakingPotential Structure Damage
ResistantVulnerable
X0ExtremeV. HeavyV. Heavy
IX0ViolentHeavyV. Heavy
VIII0SevereModerate/HeavyHeavy
VII0Very StrongModerateModerate/Heavy
VI0StrongLightModerate
V72kModerateV. LightLight
IV1,310kLightNoneNone
II-III4,944k*WeakNoneNone
I--*Not FeltNoneNone
*Estimated exposure only includes population within the map area.

Table showing population exposed to different estimated Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) levels and the possible damage at different intensity levels for resistant and vulnerable structures. MMI describes the severity of an earthquake in terms of its effect on humans and structures and is a rough measure of the amount of shaking at a given location. Unlike earthquake magnitude, intensity varies with distance from the fault, and is influenced by the depth of the earthquake and the types of soils in the shaken region. Population outside the map bounds are not included in the totals.

Cities

MMICityPopulation
VShizunai22k
IVObihiro173k
IVOtofuke40k
IVKushiro183k
IVSapporo1883k
IVMisawa42k
IIIShibetsu21k
IIITomakomai174k
IIIChitose92k
IIIIwamizawa85k
IIIEbetsu133k
IIIMuroran96k
IIIMutsu49k
IIIShiraoi20k
IIITobetsu21k
IIIBibai29k
IIITakikawa45k
IIISunagawa20k
IIIUtashinai5k
IIIAkabira14k
IIIIshikari57k
IIIHachinohe239k
IIIKamiiso38k
IIIHiroshima62k
IIIKitami113k
IIIHakodate275k
IIINemuro31k
IIIShimo-furano25k
IIIDate35k
IIIAshibetsu19k
IIIAsahikawa356k
IIIBihoro22k
IIINanae30k
IIIAomori298k
IIIFukagawa26k
IIIIchinohe15k
IIIAbashiri42k
IIIYoichi22k
IIIKamikawa5k
IIOtrada3k
IIRumoi26k
IIOtaru143k
IIKazuno36k

Table of MMI estimates and populations for settlements falling within the map boundaries. The settlement name, location, and population are obtained from the freely-available GeoNames geographical database.


 

Details

Magnitude6.9
Max MMIV
Date-TimeThursday, September 11, 2008 at 00:20:52 UTC
Location41.979°N, 143.625°E
Depth35.0 km (21.7 miles)
Event IDUS2008WVAG
Version2
Additional Information