Strong earthquake felt in northern Honshu and Hokkaido, Japan – 6 persons injured so far in Hokkaido
Last update: February 2, 2013 at 10:52 pm by By Armand Vervaeck
VERY IMPORTANT : There are NO tsunami warnings or advisories for this earthquake (source JMA Japan)
Update 14:33 UTC : JMA Japan reports a Magnitude of 6.4 at 120 km depth which is VERY GOOD NEWS !
Update 14:29 UTC : Preliminary Magnitude of this very strong earthquake : 6.7
JMA 5+ intensity (moderately dangerous) at the following locations : Tokachi-chiho Chubu, Kushiro-chiho Chunambu, Nemuro-chiho Nambu
Intensity map courtesy and copyright JMA Japan
Most important Earthquake ata:
Magnitude : 6.7
Local time at epicenter : 2013-02-02 23:17:33 UTC+09:00 at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 93 km
Geo-location(s) :
Tokachi-chiho Chubu
Kushiro-chiho Chunambu
Nemuro-chiho Nambu
61km (38mi) SE of Obihiro, Japan
68km (42mi) SSE of Otofuke, Japan
81km (50mi) SW of Kushiro, Japan
106km (66mi) E of Shizunai, Japan
826km (513mi) NNE of Tokyo, Japan
Update 22:48 UTC : No other news or no other reports from FDMA Japan. Today’s earthquake was one with a happy end but was also a grim reminder of the March 11, 2011 tsunami earthquake.
Earthquake-Report.com senses the same way of reacting against powerful quakes in Japan and in Chile. Both countries had massive quakes the last couple of years and people are very well prepared these days. Exchanging experiences on what happened is a part of the routine. The shaking map below is based on the USGS data which are way stronger than the JMA data (M6.9 @ 102 km vs M6.4 @ 120 km). Based on the many reports we have received from Hokkaido, ER goes for the Japanese JMA scenario.
Update 17:30 UTC : FDMA Japan has just published a new report confirming 6 injured persons (all of them in Hokkaido) Kushiro area: two people injured (minor injury) Kushiro town: one person injured (minor injury) Obihiro: 1 wounded (minor injury) Kitami: 1 wounded (minor injury) Anping town: one person injured (minor injury)
for more information and updates, go to: http://earthquake-report.com/2013/02/02/strong-earthquake-felt-in-hokkaido-japan/
Last update: August 25, 2012 at 2:41 pm by By Ashish Khanal
Intensity during Hokkaido earthquake – Orange : strongest – image courtesy JMA Japan
Strong (moderately dangerous) earthquake along the Hokkaido (Japan) coast
Preliminary Magnitude around M6.0, Depth approx. 60 km
NO tsunami danger
The earthquake’s epicenter is below the Hokkaido Island at a depth of 50 km
JMA Japan reports a 5- intensity, just below the level that Earthquake-Report.com considers as very dangerous.
The epicenter is below the south-western tip of the island, more precisely below Mt. Rakko. No city in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter. The relatively deep epicenter makes that the earthquake will be felt in a much wider area than in case of a shallow quake. The shaking has been felt not only all over Hokkaido, but also in the northern part of Honshu.
JMA 5- intensity has been experienced in the following localities : Urakawa-cho Shiomi, Urakawa-cho Tsukiji*, Samani-cho Sakaemachi*, Makubetsu-cho Churui-nishikimachi*, Urahoro-cho Sakuramachi*, Sarabetsu-mura Sarabetsu*, Tokachi Taiki-cho Seika*, Hiro-o-cho Nishi-yojo*
Update 16:13 UTC : The data below is a little confusing for some people as USGS indicates “only” a max. MMI V (moderate shaking) and JMA a 5+ (equivalent of MMI VII). JMA Japan is a highly specialized seismological agency and we always tend to believe the local agencies. The testimony below shows that JMA Japan is right. We do not expect a lot more Experience reports as there are very few English understanding people living in these areas. Our Experience reports in Japan are mostly coming from Expats working in the country.
Intensity map, courtesy JMA Japan (dark orange = strongest shaking)
Update 15:56 UTC : An ER reader living in Misawa, approx. 75 km from the epicenter wrote a few moments ago :
Woke me up, I think midnight. I was so scared that I jumped up too quickly and ended up with a cramp in my leg. It was long too and was getting stronger so husband and I stood under doorway of lodging until subsided a little then went outside. She described the shaking as a strong shaking. Misawa is labeled as a JMA 4 intensity. Some people must have felt it a lot stronger (see above)
Update 15:52 UTC : Based on JMA data (Japan Seismological Service), the max. shaking will be 5+ at Tohoku-machi Kamikita-minami*. 5+ is considered by Earthquake-Report.com as “moderately dangerous”. JMA uses a 0 to 7 scale.
Based on theoretical data from USGS, the max. shaking will be moderate and felt by 76,000 people.
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : M6.0 (JMA Japan)
UTC Time : Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 15:02:25 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 12:02:25 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 50 km (JMA Japan)
Geo-location(s) :
Approx. 60 km from Mutsu, Honshu, Japan
107 km (66 miles) NNE of Hachinohe, Honshu, Japan
119 km (73 miles) ESE of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan
127 km (78 miles) ENE of Aomori, Honshu, Japan
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Update 18:05 UTC : Minor damage
4 schools in Noheji have broken windows. Other damage has been reported in the museum of Noheji (damage to the ceiling). We will keep you updated if new reports are published.
Update 16:57 UTC : FDMA Japan has issued a new report on 16:40 UTC – good news, still no sign of any damage. ER expects that the highest intensity area will probably remain damage free.
Update 16:44 UTC : FDMA Japan (Fire brigade who also works as SAR and Emergency forces during earthquake are currently making an assessment of the situation. The heaviest shaking is in the Aomori prefecture. Until now no damage reported as yet. The report has been issued 1 hour ago.
Purple line is subduction fault line – seismic hazard map courtesy USGS
Update 16:30 UTC : We have noticed and reported a very curious swarm of earthquakes more to the south. A lot of these earthquakes had the same Magnitude than this one but due to the distance from the coast (150 to 200 km) we have only described the phenomenon in our daily lists. This earthquake as well as all the other earlier ones and the great March 11 destructive one in 2011 are triggered by the same fault. The purple line at right is the subduction fault line where the pacific plate subducts the Eurasian plate. The depth today is a very good illustration of this subducting process. The pacific heavier plate glides below the Eurasian plate and hangs frequently. When the pressure mounts, it suddenly breaks and generates an earthquake. The friction points are mostly seen in a rather wide area (a few hundred km’s) along the subduction faults.
Update 16:20 UTC : The earthquake occurred just after midnight and a lot of people must have been already sleeping. Hard to get up this way.
Update 16:20 UTC : There are NO tsunami advisories in effect. In general earthquakes below M7 generate rarely stronger waves
Purple line is subduction fault line – seismic hazard map courtesy USGS