A Summary of Major Earthquakes in Recent Years! What Were the Damages and Conditions?

この投稿文は次の言語で読めます: 日本語 (Japanese)

Heisei 30 (2018) Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake Region: Central to Eastern Iburi, Hokkaido Time: 2018 Extent of Damage: Large Number of Households that lost power: Approximately 2.95 million at peak (most restored within two days of the earthquake) Number of Households without water: Up to 68,249 The Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake occurred at 3:07 AM on September 6, with its epicenter in the central to eastern Iburi region of Hokkaido. The maximum seismic intensity was 7 on the Japanese scale, observed for the first time ever in Hokkaido. That maximum intensity of 7 was recorded in Atsuma Town, Yufutsu District, located near the epicenter. Numerous homes across a wide area were affected by landslides. In Abira Town and Mukawa Town, both of which observed an intensity of 6+, there were also many house collapses, and road damage and other infrastructure destruction occurred mainly in the central Hokkaido region (the Ishikari and Iburi General Subprefectural Bureaus). Heisei 28 (2016) Kumamoto Earthquake Region: Kumamoto region of Kumamoto Prefecture, etc. Time: 2016 Extent of Damage: Large Number of Households that lost power: Approximately 477,000 at peak (most restored within one week of the earthquake) Number of Households without water: Up to 445,857 The Kumamoto Earthquakes occurred on and after April 14, 2016 (Heisei 28), striking Kumamoto Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture in succession. Earthquakes registering intensity 7 occurred on the night of April 14 and again in the early hours of April 16. In addition, there were two quakes with a maximum intensity of 6+, and three with 6-. These were the fourth and fifth instances in Japan’s history where an intensity of 7 was observed. For the first time since the current Japan Meteorological Agency scale was established, intensity 7 was recorded twice in one series of seismic events. Notably, this was the first time an intensity of 7 had ever been observed in the Kyushu region. Moreover, the shaking in Mashiki Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, had a measured intensity of 6.7, exceeding the 6.6 observed during the 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and becoming the strongest recorded seismic intensity in Japan’s observation history. Many people were harmed by collapsing houses and landslides triggered by the earthquakes. Furthermore, 218 people were designated by local governments as having died in “earthquake-related deaths,” which included deaths caused by stress or worsening health conditions during evacuation. This figure includes three people in Ōita Prefecture, in addition to those in Kumamoto Prefecture where the epicenters were located. Heisei 23 (2011) Tōhoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake (Great East Japan Earthquake) Region: Offshore Sanriku Time: 2011 Extent of Damage: Large Number of Households that lost power: Up to about 4.66 million under Tōhoku Electric Power and about 4.04 million under Tokyo Electric Power at peak (most restored within a week of the earthquake) Number of Households without water: About 2.57 million The 2011 (Heisei 23) Tōhoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake struck at 2:46 PM on March 11, 2011, with an epicenter off the Sanriku coast in the Pacific Ocean. It had a magnitude of 9.0, the largest ever recorded in Japan’s observation history. A maximum intensity of 7 was observed in Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, it was the third time that an intensity 7 had been recorded, following the 1995 Hyōgo-ken Nanbu Earthquake (Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake) and the 2004 Niigata Prefecture Chūetsu Earthquake. Named the Great East Japan Earthquake, it caused extensive damage not only from the quake itself but also from the ensuing tsunami, fires, liquefaction, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, large-scale blackouts, and more. Disaster Relief Act measures were applied in one metropolitan prefecture and nine other prefectures. The tsunami inflicted casualties mainly along the Pacific coast of the Tōhoku region but also in parts of the Kantō region and Hokkaidō. The number of fatalities and missing persons exceeded the figures from the Great Kantō Earthquake, the Meiji Sanriku Earthquake, and the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, making it the worst natural disaster to strike Japan since World War II. Heisei 20 (2008) Iwate–Miyagi Inland Earthquake Region: Southern Inland Iwate Prefecture Time: 2008 Extent of Damage: Moderate Number of Households that lost power: About 29,000 at peak (most restored on the same day of the earthquake) Number of Households without water: 5,560 The Iwate–Miyagi Inland Earthquake occurred at around 8:43 AM on June 14, 2008 (Heisei 20), in the southern inland area of Iwate Prefecture. The strongest shaking registered an intensity of 6+ in Ōshū City, Iwate Prefecture, and Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture, and damage was concentrated in these two municipalities. As is common with shallow inland earthquakes, there was relatively less damage from collapsed buildings overall, but areas near the epicenter, including Kurihara City and Ōsaki City, experienced significant damage. In particular, Kurihara City suffered large-scale landslides, forest collapses, and other destructive events leading to casualties and houses buried by earth and sand, as well as extensive damage to roads, rivers, and other facilities. Moreover, several communities became isolated when roads were cut off.

この投稿文は次の言語で読めます: 日本語 (Japanese)