1948 Fukui earthquake explained

1948 Fukui earthquake
Local-Time:16:13:31 JST
Timestamp:1948-06-28 07:13:31
Anss-Url:iscgem897413
Isc-Event:897413
Magnitude:6.8 Mw
Depth:10km (10miles)
Location:36.16°N 136.22°W
Type:Intraplate earthquake
Countries Affected:Japan
Damage:US$ 1 billion[1]
Intensity:
(now equivalent to)
Casualties:3,769 dead[2] [3]
22,203 injured [4]
Native Name:福井地震
Native Name Lang:ja

The occurred in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The magnitude 6.8 quake struck at 4:13:31 p.m.(JDT) on June 28, 1948. The quake's hypocenter was approximately 10 km north-northeast of Fukui, in the present-day neighborhood of Maruoka, Sakai City.[5] The strongest shaking occurred in the city of Fukui, where it was recorded as 6 (equivalent to the current 7) on the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale.

Overview

The earthquake devastated Fukui, which was still recovering from damage sustained during WWII air raids in July 1945. Damage across the entire Fukuiheiya flood plain into neighboring Ishikawa prefecture. Official casualty estimates totaled 3,769 [6] dead and 22,000 wounded, with more than 36,000 buildings completely destroyed.[7] In the Kanazugocho district (modern-day eastern Arawa); Maruoka and Harue; and Yoshida District, nearly every building was leveled. In central Fukui city, which was adjacent to the epicenter, approximately 79% of structures were completely destroyed, while the overall destruction rate across the Fukuiheiya floodplain surpassed 60%. Fires caused by the earthquake compounded the destruction.

The quake also seriously damaged the embankments of the Kuzuryū River. Record-setting rain in the weeks following the quake subsequently caused the levees to burst, leading to massive flooding.

Although three years of war damage, earthquake damage, fire damage, and flood damage reduced the city to ashes, it continued to rebuild. In honor of the citizens' resilience, the Fukui citizen's charter proclaims Fukui "City of the Phoenix."

Geology

This earthquake was caused by a previously unknown strike-slip fault. The fault stretches from Kanazu to Fukui,[8] with a length of 250NaN0, and was later named the "Fukui Earthquake Fault". Shaking was felt as far as Mito in the east, and Saga in the west.

Damage

Damage was most reported in the Fukui plain, where the building collapse rate was more than 60%, since shaking became larger due to it being an alluvial plain, and many of the buildings were just built after the war and a little unstable.

As many people were cooking when the earthquake struck, many fires spread after the quake. Since the roads and the waterworks were damaged it took five days to put out the fires and so the fires caused devastating damage.

Even though the Daiwa Department Store collapsed, the Fukui Bank building right next to it had no significant damage. It is thought to have been because the Fukui Bank building had about 500 deep foundation pipes 10 meters deep in the ground.

Almost all of the farmers' houses in the epicenter area collapsed, but most of the farmers were outside so there were not many casualties.

Prefecture
Casualties Damaged houses
Deaths Injuries Collapsed Half collapsed Burned
Fukui3,728 21,750 35,382 10,542 3,851
Ishikawa41 453 802 1,274 0
Total3,769 22,203 36,184 11,816 3,851

Damage in Fukui City

Total damage in Fukui City
Dead930
Collapsed buildings12,270
Half collapsed buildings3,158
Burnt buildings2,069
Building collapse rate79.0%
Fires24
Burnt area2,120,600 m2

Casualties

At the time, it was the deadliest earthquake after the Pacific War (now superseded by the Great Hanshin earthquake and the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami). This earthquake killed 3769 people, mainly in Sakai City (then part of Fukui City), where the death rate was more than 1%.

Property damage

Other

Influence

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Significant Earthquake Information. National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.. 1972. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 10.7289/V5TD9V7K. 2024-03-22.
  2. Web site: 気象庁 | 過去の地震・津波被害 . 2012-12-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130119022657/http://www.seisvol.kishou.go.jp/eq/higai/higai-1995.html . 2013-01-19 . dead .
  3. Web site: 福井県の地震活動の特徴 – 地震調査研究推進本部. www.jishin.go.jp.
  4. Web site: 石川県の地震活動の特徴 – 地震調査研究推進本部. www.jishin.go.jp.
  5. http://www.seisvol.kishou.go.jp/cgi-bin/shindo_db.cgi?from_YYYY=1948&from_MM=01&from_DD=01&from_hh=00&from_mm=00&to_YYYY=1949&to_MM=01&to_DD=01&to_hh=24&to_mm=00&ORG_PID=24403&pref=40&minimum_shindo=7&station=9999999&max_count=5&PARAM_OK_DATE=%B8%A1%BA%F7%BC%C2%B9%D4 Japan Meteorological Agency
  6. News: 19 January 1995 . Jap Quake Death Toll Passes 4,000 . live . 1 August 2024 . The Vindicator . 1.
  7. Ichinose . Gene A. . Somerville . Paul . Thio . Hong Kie . Matsushima . Shinichi . Sato . Toshiaki . 12 May 2005 . Rupture process of the 1948 Fukui earthquake (M 7.1) from the joint inversion of seismic waveform and geodetic data . Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth . en . 110 . B5 . 10.1029/2004JB003437 . 2005JGRB..110.5301I . 0148-0227.
  8. Web site: Archived copy . 2012-12-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160420020719/http://namaz.ge.fukui-nct.ac.jp/ronnbunn/date/h1/h1.htm . 2016-04-20 . dead .