Building Aspects of the 2004 Niigata Ken Chuetsu, Japan, Earthquake

Abstract

The 23 October 2004 Niigata Ken Chuetsu, Japan, earthquake ( Mw=6.6) significantly damaged many buildings. Major damage was generally confined to areas where very strong ground motions and/or permanent ground displacement occurred in the epicentral region. Outside this region, however, in Nagaoka about 1,000 buildings were completely destroyed, and almost 50,000 sustained some damage. Closer to or in the epicentral region, Ojiya, Kawaguchi, and Yamakoshi all sustained major building damage, with many traditional Japanese houses collapsing. A newer and larger type of housing specific to the region, which has full-perimeter reinforced concrete walls, generally performed very well. A promptly and widely employed safety inspection program appears to have functioned well.