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M 5.6 - SERAM, INDONESIA

Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 00:04:04 UTC
Location: 3.8°S 128.9°E  Depth: 101km
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
V30kModerateV. LightLight
IV702kLightNoneNone
II-III134k*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
IVAmahai47k
IVAmbon355k
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shaking Intensity
    MMI
Shakemap

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake 316 km Northeast of this one struck Indonesia on October 13, 1994 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 9,000 at intensity VII and 5,000 at intensity VI, with no reported fatalities. On March 14, 2006 (UTC), a magnitude 6.7 earthquake and tsunami 193 km Northeast of this one struck Indonesia, with estimated population exposures of 34,000 at intensity VIII and 194,000 at intensity VII, resulting in an estimated 3 fatalities. Recent earthquakes in this area have caused landslides 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/2008wxac.

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
V30kModerateV. LightLight
IV702kLightNoneNone
II-III134k*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
IVAmahai47k
IVAmbon355k

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

Magnitude5.6
Max MMIV
Date-TimeSaturday, September 13, 2008 at 00:04:04 UTC
Location3.774°S, 128.945°E
Depth100.9 km (62.7 miles)
Event IDUS2008WXAC
Version2
Additional Information