M 5.5 - EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA

Summary

Population Exposure

 Population per ˜1 square km from Landscan 2005

Selected City Exposure

MMI	City	Population
V	Tianpeng	60k
IV	Deyang	152k
IV	Chengdu	3950k
IV	Linqiong	55k
IV	Jiangyou	127k
IV	Mianyang	264k
IV	Tongchuan	58k
IV	Ziyang	87k
IV	Chonglong	58k

Shaking Intensity

    MMI

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. A magnitude 5.6 earthquake 347 km Northeast of this one struck China on June 15, 1982 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 1,000 at intensity VII and 2,000 at intensity VI, resulting in an estimated 11 fatalities. On February 06, 1973 (UTC), a magnitude 7.7 earthquake 280 km Northeast of this one struck Luhuo, China, with estimated population exposures of 31,000 at intensity IX or greater and 19,000 at intensity VIII, resulting in an estimated 2,199 fatalities. Recent earthquakes in this area have caused landslides that may have contributed to losses.

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
  296 kB
• 
  Exposure XML
  6 kB
• 
  Shakemap
  23 kB
• 
  Population Map
  94 kB
• 
  Population PDF
  216 kB

Details