M 5.3 - NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

Summary

Population Exposure

 Population per ˜1 square km from Landscan 2005

Selected City Exposure

MMI	City	Population
IV	Ishinomaki	117k
IV	Kamaishi	43k
IV	Ofunato	35k
IV	Otsuchi	16k
IV	Ichinoseki	62k
IV	Yamada	20k
IV	Wakuya	18k
IV	Kitakami	93k
IV	Morioka	295k
IV	Sendai	1037k
IV	Iwaki	357k

Shaking Intensity

    MMI

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake resistant construction. A magnitude 5.4 earthquake 152 km Northeast of this one struck Japan on July 25, 2003 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 76,000 at intensity VII and 584,000 at intensity VI, with no reported fatalities. On October 23, 2004 (UTC), a magnitude 6.6 earthquake 381 km Northeast of this one struck Niigata, 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/2008aeaj.

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
  313 kB
• 
  Exposure XML
  10 kB
• 
  Shakemap
  18 kB
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  Population Map
  33 kB
• 
  Population PDF
  728 kB

Details