Strong and shallow M6.2 earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan

honshu-japan-earthquake-august-4-2019

A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) as M6.2 hit near the east coast of Honshu, Fukushima-ken Oki, Japan at 10:23 UTC (19:23 JST) on August 4, 2019. The agency is reporting a depth of 50 km (31 miles). The USGS is reporting M6.3 at a depth of 38.6 km (23.9 miles), EMSC M6.3 at a depth of 40 km (24.8 miles).

The epicenter was located 54.9 km (34.1 miles) ENE of Namie, Fukushima (population 21 866), 68.9 km (42.8 miles) ESE of Watari (population 36 321), 70.7 km (43.9 miles) ESE of Marumori (population 16 752), 72.3 km (44.9 miles) SE of Iwanuma (population 42 411) and 83.4 km (51.8 miles) SE of Sendai (population 1 063 103), Miyaki, Japan.

There are 2 570 000 people living within 100 km (62 miles).

71 000 people are estimated to have felt moderate shaking and 3 351 000 light.

This earthquake poses no tsunami risk, JMA said.

The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are heavy wood frame and reinforced/confined masonry construction.

Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides and fires that might have contributed to losses.

Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking

Selected cities exposed

Regional seismicity

Featured image credit: Google, TW/SAM

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