| Location: | [1] |
| Native Name: | 岩手県沿岸北部地震 |
| Magnitude: | 6.8 6.8 |
| Timestamp: | 2008-07-23 15:26:19 |
| Anss-Url: | usp000gczp |
| Local-Date: | July 24, 2008 |
| Isc-Event: | 13389912 |
| Casualties: | 1 dead, 211 injured[2] |
| Local-Time: | 00:26 (JST)[3] |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Depth: | 115km (71miles) |
| Intensity: | [4] |
The was an earthquake that occurred in Iwate Prefecture, Japan on July 23, 2008. The earthquake's moment magnitude was 6.8 and it occurred at a depth of 115 km. Since this earthquake was an intermediate-focus earthquake, the shaking of the earthquake was observed over a wide range.[5] It had a maximum JMA intensity of Shindo 6− (Aomori and Iwate).[4]
The earthquake ruptured a fault within the subducting Pacific Plate beneath northern Iwate at a calculated depth of . Earthquakes within the subducting slabs are intraslab events; other intraslab earthquakes including those occurring in 1987, 1993, 2001 and 2003 have been damaging. Although occurring deeper in Earth's interior, these events can produce large ground motions. In the case of this earthquake, the recorded peak ground acceleration exceeded 1,000 cm/sec2, corresponding to IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale. A seismic inversion study suggest the earthquake ruptured two fault segments; the northern segment measuring ×, and the southern segment measuring × . A maximum slip of was estimated.[6]
The earthquake left one person dead; an elderly woman in Iwaki who suffered severe wounds after falling from her bed due to the shaking. At least 211 others were also injured.[7]