M 5.5 - PAPUA, INDONESIA

Summary

Population Exposure

 Population per ˜1 square km from Landscan 2005

Selected City Exposure

MMI	City	Population
VI	Nabire	43k

Shaking Intensity

    MMI

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. A magnitude 6.1 earthquake occurred in the Indonesia region 397 km east of the location of this earthquake on August 1, 1989 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 4,000 at intensity VIII and 9,000 at intensity VII, resulting in an estimated 120 fatalities. On February 17, 1996 (UTC), a magnitude 8.2 earthquake and tsunami occurred near the Baik, Indonesia, region 335 km northeast of the location of this earthquake, with estimated population exposures of 155,000 at intensity VIII and 120,000 at intensity VII, resulting in an estimated 166 fatalities. Recent earthquakes in this area have caused, landslides, fires and liquefaction 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/2009gfad.

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
  537 kB
• 
  Exposure XML
  3 kB
• 
  Shakemap
  28 kB
• 
  Population Map
  50 kB
• 
  Population PDF
  486 kB

Details