NEHRP Clearinghouse
- Title
- An Investigation of the Miyagi-ken-oki, Japan, Earthquake of June 12, 1978.
- File
- PB81116865.pdf
- Author(s)
- Ellingwood, B. R.
- Source
- October 1980, 238 p.
- Identifying Number(s)
- NBS-SP-592
- Abstract
- On June 12, 1978, a destructive earthquake with Richter magnitude of 7.4 occurred off the east coast of Miyagi Perfecture, Japan. Preliminary estimates by the National Land Agency of Japan indicated that the earthquake caused an equivalent of $800 million in total damage. There is a cooperative agreement between the Governments of the United States and Japan termed the U.S.-Japan Program in Natural Resources (UJNR). Following the earthquake, it was arranged through UJNR that teams of U.S. structural engineers and geologists would visit Miyagi Prefecture and inspect the damage caused by the earthquake. This report assembles the information and collective experiences of the investigation team so as to describe the earthquake and document its effects. Field investigations conducted by geologists and structural engineers are described in detail and some of the implications for seismic resistant design and construction of structures in the United States are also discussed.
- Keywords
- Bridges; Damage assessment; Earthquake resistant structures; Sendai City (Japan); Landslides; Earth movements; Buildings; Ground motion; Liquefaction (Soils); Japan; Earthquakes