M 5.5 - NORTHERN ALGERIA

Friday, June 6, 2008 at 20:02:57 UTC
Location: 35.9°N 0.7°W Depth: 4km

Summary

Estimated Population Exposed to Earthquake Shaking

Est. Modified Mercalli Intensity	Est. Population Exposure (k = x1000)	Perceived Shaking	Potential Structure Damage
Est. Modified Mercalli Intensity	Est. Population Exposure (k = x1000)	Perceived Shaking	Resistant	Vulnerable
X	0	Extreme	V. Heavy	V. Heavy
IX	0	Violent	Heavy	V. Heavy
VIII	0	Severe	Moderate/Heavy	Heavy
VII	0	Very Strong	Moderate	Moderate/Heavy
VI	897k	Strong	Light	Moderate
V	1,475k	Moderate	V. Light	Light
IV	5,144k*	Light	None	None
II-III	--*	Weak	None	None
I	--*	Not Felt	None	None

*Estimated exposure only includes population within the map area.

Population Exposure

Population per ˜1 square km from Landscan 2005

Selected City Exposure

MMI	City	Population
VI	'Ain el Turk	45k
VI	Mers el Kebir	20k
VI	Oran	645k
VI	Bir el Djir	68k
V	Es Senia	68k
V	Sidi ech Chahmi	35k
V	Ain el Bya	37k
V	Sidi Bel Abbes	191k
IV	Ech Chettia	167k
IV	Oujda	405k
IV	Almeria	179k

Shaking Intensity

MMI

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake 67 km Northeast of this one struck Mascara, Algeria on August 18, 1994 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 7,000 at intensity VIII and 160,000 at intensity VII, resulting in an estimated 159 fatalities. On October 10, 1980 (UTC), a magnitude 7.1 earthquake and tsunami 178 km Northeast of this one struck El Asnam, Algeria, with estimated population exposures of 29,000 at intensity IX or greater and 320,000 at intensity VIII, resulting in an estimated 3,500 fatalities. Recent earthquakes in this area have caused, landslides and liquefaction 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

[Population | Shakemap]

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

Est. Modified Mercalli Intensity	Est. Population Exposure (k = x1000)	Perceived Shaking	Potential Structure Damage
Est. Modified Mercalli Intensity	Est. Population Exposure (k = x1000)	Perceived Shaking	Resistant	Vulnerable
X	0	Extreme	V. Heavy	V. Heavy
IX	0	Violent	Heavy	V. Heavy
VIII	0	Severe	Moderate/Heavy	Heavy
VII	0	Very Strong	Moderate	Moderate/Heavy
VI	897k	Strong	Light	Moderate
V	1,475k	Moderate	V. Light	Light
IV	5,144k*	Light	None	None
II-III	--*	Weak	None	None
I	--*	Not Felt	None	None

*Estimated exposure only includes population within the map area.

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.

Cities

MMI	City	Population
VI	'Ain el Turk	45k
VI	Mers el Kebir	20k
VI	Oran	645k
VI	Bir el Djir	68k
V	Es Senia	68k
V	Sidi ech Chahmi	35k
V	Ain el Bya	37k
V	Bou Tlelis	26k
V	El Amria	26k
V	'Ain el Berd	16k
V	Sig	58k
V	Hammam Bou Hadjar	35k
V	Sidi Bel Abbes	191k
IV	El Malah	19k
IV	'Ain Temouchent	57k
IV	Bou Hanifia el Hamamat	27k
IV	Sfizef	31k
IV	Beni Saf	46k
IV	Sidi Abdelli	23k
IV	Bensekrane	21k
IV	Remchi	51k
IV	Ouled Mimoun	33k
IV	Chetouane	39k
IV	Hennaya	41k
IV	Jdiouia	31k
IV	Zemmora	21k
IV	Mansoura	52k
IV	Beni Mester	19k
IV	'Ain el Hadjar	12k
IV	Uzes-le-Duc	22k
IV	Nedroma	36k
IV	Oued Rhiou	59k
IV	Saida	127k
IV	Garrucha	6k
IV	Mazouna	22k
IV	Sebdou	41k
IV	Vera	10k
IV	Bou Kadir	26k
IV	Ech Chettia	167k
IV	'Ain Merane	34k
IV	Oujda	405k
IV	Antas	3k
IV	Mojacar	5k
IV	Pulpi	7k
IV	Carboneras	7k
IV	Ammi Moussa	23k
IV	Ahfir	19k
IV	Berkane	80k
IV	Turre	2k
IV	Oued Sly	30k
IV	Sidi Akacha	26k
IV	Viator	3k
IV	Roquetas de Mar	62k
IV	Almeria	179k
IV	Abou el Hassen	24k
IV	Cuevas del Almanzora	11k
IV	Frenda	63k
IV	Nijar	22k
IV	Huercal de Almeria	11k
IV	Aguilas	30k
IV	Sorbas	2k
IV	Lubrin	1k
IV	El Aioun	35k
IV	Benahadux	3k
IV	Rioja	1k
IV	Tabernas	3k
IV	Huercal-Overa	15k
IV	Gador	3k
IV	Vicar	17k
IV	Zurgena	2k
IV	Arboleas	2k
IV	Alhama de Almeria	3k
IV	Fines	1k
IV	Olula del Rio	6k
IV	Cantoria	3k
IV	Albox	10k
IV	Macael	6k
IV	Gergal	1k
IV	Purchena	1k
IV	Jerada	43k
IV	La Mojonera	7k
IV	Tijola	3k
IV	Seron	2k

Table of MMI estimates and populations for settlements falling within the map boundaries. The settlement name, location, and population are obtained from the freely-available GeoNames geographical database.

Downloads

Details

Magnitude	5.5
Max MMI	VI
Date-Time	Friday, June 6, 2008 at 20:02:57 UTC
Location	35.880°N, 0.694°W
Depth	4.0 km (2.5 miles)
Event ID	US2008SYA1
Version	4