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Hurricane Charley - US & Caribbean
Hurricane Frances - US & Caribbean
Hurricane Ivan - US & Caribbean
Hurricane Jeanne - US & Caribbean
Typhoons - Japan
Earthquake - Japan
Earthquake & tsunami - Indian
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Other events
|
Catastrophe Report 6
July 21, 2004 - February 18, 2005 |
Earthquake - Japan
| Territory: |
|
Japan |
| Region: |
|
Niigata (Honshu) |
| Date: |
|
23 October, 2004 |
| Event: |
|
Earthquake |
| Impact: |
|
Generally effective anti-seismic building codes
ensured that the death and injury tolls were small, with 40
killed and around 4,500 injured. However, more than 2,770 buildings
were completely destroyed, around 10,000 partially demolished,
and 87,000 damaged in Niigata Prefecture. In addition, roads
and bridges were damaged and power, gas and water supplies disrupted.
More than a hundred landslides and eleven reported fires contributed
to the disruption. With peak ground accelerations of up to 1.7g
(for Kobe 1995, pga = 0.8g) damage would have been far worse
had the epicentre not been located in a largely rural area.
Even so, this was the most significant earthquake to affect
Japan since the 1995 Kobe quake, and estimated economic losses
of US$ 28 billion make it the third costliest earthquake after
Kobe and Northridge (California, 1964). Insured losses are estimated
at a lowly US$ 0.45 billion. |
| Summary: |
|
A magnitude 6.6 (Moment Magnitude Scale) earthquake
struck the Japanese city of Niigata in NW Honshu on the evening
(local time) of 23 October. The epicentre was located 80 km
south of Niigata and 195 km north of Tokyo. The shallow depth
of the quake – just 13 km – ensured that, although
not large, the associated shaking was severe and damage was
substantial. An aftershock sequence incorporated more than 360
events over the next 48 hours, including two in excess of Richter
Magnitude 6.0. A magnitude 7.5 (Richter Magnitude) earthquake
struck the city in 1964 killing 30 people and destroying 2,000
buildings, many as a result of ground liquefaction. |
| Data sources: |
|
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
http://www.eeri.org/lfe/pdf/japan_niigata_eeri_preliminary_report.pdf
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/uspyal/
|
| Additional sources:
|
|
University of Southern California
http://gees.usc.edu/GEES/RecentEQ/Japan2004/Introduction.htm
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