M 5.5 - HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION

Summary

Population Exposure

 Population per ˜1 square km from Landscan 2005

Selected City Exposure

MMI	City	Population
V	Shizunai	22k
IV	Tomakomai	174k
IV	Chitose	92k
IV	Shiraoi	20k
IV	Mutsu	49k
IV	Obihiro	173k
IV	Otofuke	40k
III	Hakodate	275k
III	Sapporo	1883k
III	Kushiro	183k
III	Aomori	298k

Shaking Intensity

    MMI

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake resistant construction. A magnitude 5.6 earthquake 201 km Northeast of this one struck Japan on May 23, 1995 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 1,000 at intensity VII and 114,000 at intensity VI, with no reported fatalities. On July 12, 1993 (UTC), a magnitude 7.7 earthquake and tsunami 278 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

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.

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/2008tsdu.

Exposure

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.

Downloads

• 
  onePAGER PDF
  342 kB
• 
  Exposure XML
  12 kB
• 
  Shakemap
  23 kB
• 
  Population Map
  46 kB
• 
  Population PDF
  567 kB

Details