M 6.8 - SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND

Summary

Population Exposure

 Population per ˜1 square km from Landscan 2005

Selected City Exposure

MMI	City	Population
VI	Te Anau	2k
V	Pembroke	4k
V	Riverton	1k
IV	Winton	2k
IV	Invercargill	47k
IV	Bluff	1k
IV	Balclutha	4k
IV	Milton	2k

Shaking Intensity

    MMI

Users should consider the preliminary nature of this information and check for updates as additional data becomes available. Population exposure estimates are NOT a direct estimate of earthquake damage; comparable shaking will result in significantly lower losses in regions with well built structures than in regions with vulnerable structures. Overall, structures in this region are designed to be resistant to earthquake shaking, though some vulnerable construction exists. A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the New Zealand region on May 25, 1981 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 150 at intensity IV and NaN at intensity III. No shaking-related deaths were reported.

PAGER results are generally available on the Internet within 30 minutes of the earthquake's occurrence. However, information on the extent of shaking will be uncertain in the minutes and hours following an earthquake and typically improves as additional sensor data and reported intensities are acquired and incorporated into models of the earthquake's source. Users of PAGER exposure estimates should account for uncertainty and always seek the most current PAGER release for any earthquake.

Maps

Map of MMI contours plotted over population per ˜1 square km (see gray scale bar on top of map). The regions of integer MMI values are separated by the thick contour lines and labeled with Roman numerals. The total population exposure to a given MMI value is obtained by summing the population between the thick contour lines. This total is shown in population exposure table.

Map of shaking intensity. This map shows the estimated MMI as a continuous color scale. The ground shaking estimates can be obtained from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/shakemap/.

Exposure

Table showing population exposed to different estimated Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) levels and the possible damage at different intensity levels for resistant and vulnerable structures. MMI describes the severity of an earthquake in terms of its effect on humans and structures and is a rough measure of the amount of shaking at a given location. Unlike earthquake magnitude, intensity varies with distance from the fault, and is influenced by the depth of the earthquake and the types of soils in the shaken region. Population outside the map bounds are not included in the totals.

Downloads

• 
  onePAGER PDF
  338 kB
• 
  Exposure XML
  5 kB
• 
  Shakemap
  27 kB
• 
  Population Map
  45 kB
• 
  Population PDF
  637 kB

Details