Virtual Earthquake Reconnaissance Team (VERT) Summary by Ezra Jampole, Sahar Derakhshan, and Kristen Hess.
On April 14, 2016, an M6.2 earthquake occurred near Ueki, Japan, followed by an M7.0 in the early hours of April 15, 2016 near Kumamoto-shi, Japan. There have been numerous aftershocks.
Figure 1.
The town of Mashiki, 15 km from Kumamoto city, was hit hard by the M6.2, with reports of 9 dead and 44,000 seeking refuge. Many houses were reported collapsed in Mashiki, and water was cut off to the area. An apartment building collapsed in Mashiki due to the M6.2. Heavy damage to wooden housing was reported in Hiroyasu, a mountainous region of Kumamoto.
The M7.0 caused significant additional damage in Kumamoto, with the total death toll reaching 48 as of April 20, 2016 and 2000 injured. Many older wood frame buildings in particular have collapsed. Several fires broke out on the outskirts of Kumamoto. Landslides have cut off remote mountain villages from the efforts of rescuers. In Minami-Aso, east of Mashiki, landslides destroyed more than a dozen homes and a suspension bridge. Damage to Mashiki is shown in FIgure 2 (CNN).
Figure 2.
One man reported that his 35-year-old wood-framed house in Mashiki survived the first earthquake, but was heavily damaged during the second earthquake.
It is reported that 399 houses were completely destroyed, 171 houses were partially destroyed, and 667 were damaged. Thus far 855 Evacuation Centers have been constructed.
A dormitory at Tokai University in Aso city collapsed. 10 students were rescued from collapsed university housing in Minamiaso.
180,000 people are in temporary shelters as a result of the earthquakes.
