M 6.9 - EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN

Summary

Population Exposure

 Population per ˜1 square km from Landscan 2005

Selected City Exposure

MMI	City	Population
VII	Mizusawa	61k
VII	Ichinoseki	62k
VII	Furukawa	76k
VII	Kitakami	93k
VII	Yokote	39k
VI	Hanamaki	73k
VI	Yuzawa	33k
VI	Sendai	1037k
IV	Koriyama	340k
IV	Iwaki	357k
IV	Niigata	505k

Shaking Intensity

    MMI

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake resistant construction. A magnitude 7.6 earthquake and tsunami 156 km Northeast of this one struck Miyagi-Oki, Japan on June 12, 1978 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 1,303,000 at intensity VIII and 2,557,000 at intensity VII, resulting in an estimated 22 fatalities. On October 23, 2004 (UTC), a magnitude 6.6 earthquake 262 km Northeast of this one struck Japan, with estimated population exposures of 481,000 at intensity IX or greater and 386,000 at intensity VIII, resulting in an estimated 67 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/2008tfdp.

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
  460 kB
• 
  Exposure XML
  36 kB
• 
  Shakemap
  38 kB
• 
  Population Map
  58 kB
• 
  Population PDF
  645 kB

Details