2007 Niigata Chūetsu coastal earthquake
| 2007 Niigata Chūetsu coastal earthquake | |||
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| date | July 16, 2007 | ||
| Magnitude | 6.6 M W | ||
| epicenter | 37 ° 34 '35 " N , 138 ° 28' 10" E | ||
| country | Japan | ||
| Tsunami | No | ||
| dead | 11 | ||
| Injured | 1957 | ||
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The 2007 chūetsu offshore earthquake ( jap. 新潟県中越沖地震 , Niigata-ken Chuetsu oki jishin ; literally " prefecture Niigata - Chuetsu -Küstenerdbeben"; English " Niigata Chuetsu Oki Earthquake ") was a strong earthquake with moments -Magnitude M W = 6.6 and occurred on July 16, 2007 at 10:13 am local time in the northwest of Niigata Prefecture off the west coast of Japan . The quake shook Niigata and the surrounding prefectures. Kashiwazaki , Iizuna, and Kariwa had the highest seismic intensity on the Japanese Shindo scale , but the quake was felt in Tokyo as well. Eleven people were killed and nearly two thousand more injured.
consequences
The quake mostly destroyed buildings made of wood. Roads tore open and landslides made some road links and railway lines impassable. These landslides were mainly concentrated in the area about 10 km northeast of Kashiwazaki and about 7 km east of the nuclear power plant. The layers of earth that had slipped were generally between half a meter and five meters thick. The most important infrastructure elements that were affected include the coastal road north of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant , the railroad south of Kashiwazaki, and igmigawa station on the Shin'etsu line . National Road 8 was destroyed north of the junction with National Road 252, at a point about 10 km from the coastline. During this landslide, in which around 150,000 cubic meters of material were moved, the earth masses had slipped to a depth of between six and eleven meters. The earthquake displaced streets between ten centimeters and one meter in height, making them partially impassable. The quake killed 11 people and injured them in 1957. 1,096 buildings collapsed completely and 2,679 partially collapsed, a further 27,807 buildings were otherwise damaged. Occasionally there was damage to port facilities and coastal protection structures .
Reactions and help
The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe interrupted a campaign trip in southern Japan to Kashiwazaki to visit and pledged "every effort in the rescue work to do and also the gas and electricity supplies to restore" .
The earthquake occurred on a Japanese holiday. The prime minister quickly declared the earthquake a "major disaster", which means that 80% of the costs of rescuing and restoring the infrastructure of the affected regional government are replaced by the national budget. Since this catastrophe occurred just two weeks before the 2007 Sangiin election , the cabinet showed a lively presence on the ground. Immediately after the quake, emergency shelters were provided in elementary and secondary schools for 11,000 evacuees, and the power supply was largely restored within three days, so that many evacuees could return to their undamaged homes. However, they were dependent on the availability of food and drinking water, as the supply network for water and gas was out of order in many places. By July 30, 2007, the water supply for 95% of households in Kashiwazaki and the surrounding area could be restarted, but the gas supply could only be restored for 15% of the households by this time.
In the first week after the earthquake, the houses in the affected area were examined by experts to determine whether their statics would enable the residents to return safely. This review was also linked to an assessment of the damage caused by the earthquake. On July 23, the Niigata Prefect stated that the total damage from the quake was around 3 trillion yen , with around 880 billion yen in indirect costs related to the loss of production at the Kashiwazaki nuclear power plant, lost tourism and other economic consequences related.
Tectonic assessment
The magnitude 6.6 earthquake had its epicenter west of the coast of Honshū , Japan, in a compression zone that lies on the border of the Amur and Okhotsk plates . (It is disputed whether these two microplates are independent or are part of the Eurasian or Pacific plate .) In this area, the Okhotsk plate pushes against the Amur plate in a west-northwest direction at a speed of nine millimeters per year. The two plates have relatively small dimensions and lie between the Eurasian plate and the Pacific plate. The Pacific plate pushes against the Eurasian plate at over 90 mm per year. This relative movement mainly takes place about 400 km east-southeast of the earthquake's epicenter, where the Pacific plate dips under the Okhotsk plate ( subduction ).
The shallow crustal quake was followed 13 hours later by a deep quake. This earthquake with a moment magnitude of M W = 6.8 occurred 330 km further west, at a depth of 350 km under the Sea of Japan . The two earthquakes were triggered by two different mechanisms. The first earthquake was caused by a deformation of the earth's crust in the area of the Okhotsk plate, while the second was probably caused by a buckling of the descending Pacific plate. Due to the different mechanisms and the spatial distance, it can be assumed that this is not an aftershock .
Shallow earthquakes usually cause greater damage than those that occur at great depths, because the energy of shallow earthquakes takes place closer to the surface. This stimulates stronger surface waves , which are ultimately responsible for the damaging effects of earthquakes.
Two days after the original earthquake, a stronger aftershock was registered, reaching a value of 4 on the Shindo scale in Izumozaki , Niigata Prefecture.
Effects on motor vehicle production
Toyota was forced to halt production at all of its factories because a parts factory in Kashiwazaki was damaged by the earthquake. Also, Nissan had to shut down two factories.
Production at the Toyota, Mazda and Honda plants resumed on July 25th after damaged facilities and water and gas supplies in the area were repaired. Estimates put the production loss at Toyota between 46,000 and 55,000 vehicles, while at Nissan there were 12,000 cars. Extra shifts were planned to make up for the loss.
Incidents at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant
In a transformer station of the nuclear power plant Kashiwazaki-Kariwa a fire broke out in the quake, which was removed after two hours. The quake also caused a leak in a water cycle and as a result a small amount of radioactive material leaked into the sea, but according to the authorities it did not pose a threat to the environment. The power plant, one of the most powerful in the world, was nevertheless shut down on the instructions of the Japanese government until the safety investigations are completed. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has offered experts what the Japanese government initially described as unnecessary. Later, however, at the request of the Niigata Prefecture, the government agreed to dispel public doubts about the safety of the nuclear reactor .
The acceleration caused by the quake on the foundations of the seven reactors, which are distributed over a distance of 1700 meters, was up to 0.69 g. Acceleration values between 388 and 867 cm / s² were measured. The foundations of the reactors are between 45 and 26 meters below the ground surface.
See also
Web links
- New York Times : "Japan Quake Raises Nuclear Fears" , July 17th 2007
- SPIEGEL Online : "In an earthquake, nuclear waste cans open" , July 17, 2007
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2007 年 ７ 月 16 日 10 時 13 分 こ ろ 新潟 県 上 中 越 沖 で 発 生 し た 地震 に つ い て (PDF; 21 kB) Japan Meteorological Agency . July 16, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2007. (PDF, Japanese)
- ↑ Investigation of the M6.6 Niigata-Chuetsu Oki, Japan, Earthquake of July 16, 2007 . United States Geological Survey . 2007. Accessed December 1, 2007. (PDF, English)
- ↑ a b USGS : Magnitude 6.6 - NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN ( Memento of the original from August 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , July 16, 2007.
- ↑ Asahi Shimbun , English edition online: Death toll rises to 9; experts warn another big quake may follow ( memento of September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), July 18, 2007.
- ↑ a b c "Powerful earthquake strikes Niigata, causes leak at nuclear power" plant . Japan News Review. July 16, 2007. Archived from the original on March 17, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
- ↑ "Niigata earthquake death toll rises to eleven" ( Memento of the original from November 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . July 23, 2007
- ↑ a b Japanese nuke plant leaked after earthquake, AP via CNN. July 16, 2007. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007.
- ↑ United States Geological Survey : Investigation of the M6.6 Niigata-Chuetsu Oki, Japan, Earthquake of July 16, 2007 , p. 33 f. Accessed December 1, 2007 (PDF, English)
- ↑ ibid, p. 34.
- ↑ ibid. P. 80 (according to the local press)
- ↑ ibid, p. 160 ff.
- ↑ BBC News, "Nuclear scare after Japan quake," July 16, 2007.
- ↑ United States Geological Survey : Investigation of the M6.6 Niigata-Chuetsu Oki, Japan, Earthquake of July 16, 2007 , pp. 217 f.
- ↑ ibid, p. 221.
- ↑ ibid, p. 223.
- ↑ ibid, p. 223 f.
- ↑ ibid, p. 227 f.
- ↑ USGS : Magnitude 6.8 - SEA OF JAPAN ( Memento of the original from August 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , July 16, 2007.
- ↑ USGS. Database entry. Magnitude 6.6 - NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , July 16, 2007.
- ↑ Japan News Review. Aftershock hits Niigata ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , July 18, 2007.
- ↑ Associated Press via USA Today. "Earthquake puts brakes on auto production in Japan" , July 18, 2007.
- ↑ CARandDRIVER.com. "Japan's Auto Plants Reopen After Earthquake Shutdown - Daily Auto Insider" . July 25, 2007
- ↑ "IAEA Offers to Send Expert Team to Japan Following Earthquake"
- ↑ Japan accepts IAEA inspectors after quake troubles
- ↑ United States Geological Survey : Investigation of the M6.6 Niigata-Chuetsu Oki, Japan, Earthquake of July 16, 2007. P. 81. Accessed December 1, 2007 (PDF, English)
