Flash Report on the

Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake

October 23, 2004

Magnitude 6.8
 Flash Report
Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004

SUMMARY

On October 23, 2004, an earthquake with a Magnitude of 6.8 occurred in Niigata, which is located
about 200 kilometers NNW of Tokyo (Figure 1). The epicenter was located at N37.17, E138.52.
According to a report issued by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency on October 29, 35
people were killed, 3,183 people were injured, approximately 6,000 buildings were destroyed or
damaged and at least 1,300 landslides occurred.

Three engineers from ABS Consulting (Hiroyuki Minami, Yohei Kaga, and Tomohiro Kubo),
conducted a field survey in Niigata from October 25 to 28, 2004. The surveyed areas included
Ojiya City, Nagaoka City, Mitsuke City, and Tokamachi City. These cities all experienced an
intensity of 5+ to 6+ on the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) scale.

Figure 1

EARTHQUAKE MOTION

The recorded Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) was 2515.4 gal. Kawaguchi-machi experienced
an intensity of 7 on the JMA scale. Intensity 7 has not been recorded since the 1995 Kobe
Earthquake. The Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake occurred at a shallow level with a relatively high
magnitude and demonstrated how damaging an inland earthquake can be.

The relationship between the earthquake motion and the damage was not simple. For example,
an intensity of 6+ was recorded at Ojiya City, but most of the damage was limited to old wood

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Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004

houses. The JMA’s “Damage Standard Set for Describing Earthquakes According to Seismic
Intensity” describes intensity 6+ as: “The majority of seismically vulnerable houses collapse.
Many of the walls and columns in seismically designed buildings may fail.” However, this
description did not match much of the surveyed damage. The difference may be the result of
improper calibration when JMA established a new method of deriving the intensity levels. Before
the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, the intensity of an earthquake at a given city was determined by
designated staff at the city by using the standard set. In the new JMA method, the intensity is
calculated from the earthquake record measured by a seismometer placed at the city center.

BUILDING DAMAGE

The number of reported fires was remarkably small. The lessons learned from the 1995 Kobe
Earthquake may have helped in preventing the fires. Verification of the fire control conducted in
Niigata should be conducted in the future.

The region affected by the earthquake is famous for very heavy snowfall. If the earthquake
would have occurred in the middle of winter, the damage could have been much larger due to the
potentially high snow loads. The snow in the region is wet and typically accumulates on roofs to
more than two (2) meters in depth (600 kilogram per square meter). The structural design to
withstand heavy snowfall may be one explanation of the small damage in the region, despite the
strong ground shaking. The snow load added to the seismic design force is 35% of the
short-term load (This standard should also be reviewed).

None of the observed damage was new in relation to what has been observed in previous
earthquakes. In other words, much of the damage could have been mitigated if typical
earthquake retrofit recommendations had been implemented.

COMMUNICATIONS

The lack of communication between local governments and residents was revealed in some cities
and towns. Information on aftershocks, evacuation centers, and relief goods should have been
conveyed to the residents in more effective ways.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABS Consulting would like to thank all the local government staff and the residents we visited for their
kind response to out inquiries, even though they were in the midst of the recovery work.

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 Flash Report
Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004

FIELD SURVEY

Earthquake
The main shock and the series of aftershocks originated at five to 20 kilometer deep under the
Uonuma Hill where many previous earthquakes have occurred at shallow levels (Figure 2). The
Headquarter for Earthquake Research has reported previous large earthquakes in 1904 (M6.1),
1933 (M6.1) and 1961 (M5.2).

According to JMA, the main earthquake shock

occurred at 17:56 on October 23, 2004, with a
Magnitude of 6.8. Kawaguchi-machi experienced a
JMA intensity of 7. A number of aftershocks
followed, with five of them exceeding a JMA intensity
of 6-. An aftershock of M6.0 occurred at 18:11,
which caused Ojiya City to experience an intensity of
6+, and another aftershock of M6.5 hit Tokamachi
City at 18:34 with a JMA intensity of 6+. The region
is geologically folded and consists of thrust faults, Figure 2
which have been formed by compressive stress from the west-northwest and east-southeast.
Reference points placed by the Geographical Survey Institute (GSI) show that Ojiya City was
raised 240 millimeters and moved 90 millimeters to the southwest.

According to JMA, the main earthquake shock occurred at 17:56 on October 23, 2004, with a
Magnitude of 6.8. Kawaguchi-machi experienced a JMA intensity of 7. A number of
aftershocks followed, with five of them exceeding a JMA intensity of 6-. An aftershock of M6.0
occurred at 18:11, which caused Ojiya City to experience an intensity of 6+, and another
aftershock of M6.5 hit Tokamachi City at 18:34 with a JMA intensity of 6+.The region is
geologically folded and consists of thrust faults, which have been formed by compressive stress
from the west-northwest and east-southeast. Reference points placed by the Geographical
Survey Institute (GSI) show that Ojiya City was raised 240 millimeters and moved 90 millimeters
to the southwest.

Yamato-machi and Minami Uonuma-gun subsided 40 millimeters and moved 100 millimeters to
the northwest. This movement shows that a thrust fault(s) triggered the main shock and the
main aftershocks. The GSI has reported that a fault, which rapture zone is 22 kilometers long

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Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004

and 17 kilometers wide, slipped approximately 1.4 meters. However, the exact location and
movement of the fault(s) is still under investigation.

Buildings
Ojiya City
The south facing shopping center walls fell off (Photo 1). It is assumed that the walls were
pushed out by the movement of the ceiling. Dropped ceiling panels were also seen at the some
other shopping centers. Exterior cladding and show windows at a steel framed structure were
damaged (Photo 2). Photo 3 shows the damaged cladding on an exposed column at another
steel framed building.

Photo 1 Photo 2

Photo 3 Photo 4

The Reinforced Concrete buildings, which were noticeably damaged, were all constructed prior to
1981 (the earthquake design standards were revised in 1981). Photos 4, 5, and 6 show a
building where the damage occurred at the ground floor. A soft story and lack of strength in the
columns may be a possible explanation of this damage. On the other hand, the building located
across the street shows no damage (Photo 7). At the cemetery, gravestones were falling

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Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004

towards east and west (Photo 8). The damage inside of a building involved falling furniture
(Photos 9 and 10).

Photo 6
Photo 5

Photo 7 Photo 8

Photo 9
Photo 10

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Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004

Nagaoka City
The area in the vicinity of Photo 11 is an area with soft soils. Settlement and cracks in the roads
were extensive. Differential settlement caused some buildings to collapse. Photo 11 shows a
building where the ground floor storage area collapsed due to insufficient number of resisting
walls.

Takamachi Danchi (Photo 12) is a relatively new housing complex. The property boundaries
without retaining walls experienced landslides that caused the road to break and fall. Wood stud
and wood panel construction was prevalent in this area. While the houses located at the edge of
the slope experienced severe damage, the houses at the center part of the area showed only
minor damage.

Photo 11 Photo 12

Tokamachi City
Severely damaged Reinforced Concrete structures were noticed at the center of Tokamachi City
(Photos 13, 14, 15 and 16). On the other hand, damage to wood structures was relatively light.
This difference is likely due to the characteristics of the ground motion.

Photo 13 shows the damaged column, and Photo 14 shows the whole structure. The distance
between the reinforcing ties is 300 millimeters. The building located across from Photo 14 also
experienced shear failure in a column at the ground floor (Photos 15 and 16).

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Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004

Photo 13 Photo 14

Photo 15

Photo 16

Photo 17 shows the damage that occurred at a short column restricted by a hanging wall. A
concrete block structure (CMU structure) shows severe damage in Photo 18. A reinforced
concrete building in the city center showed no noticeable damage. The show windows were not
affected (Photos 19 and 20). Photos 21 and 22 show a building constructed after 1981. A
reinforced concrete shear wall showed signs of shear failure. Old steel structures experienced
drop-off of the exterior walls (Photo 23).

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Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004

Photo 17 Photo 18

Photo 19
Photo 20

Photo 21
Photo 22

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Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004

Photo 23 Photo 24

Infrastructures
Roads
A number of road settlements, cracks in roads and landslides occurred, which caused road
closures at many locations (Photos 24 and 25). In Nagaoka City, a large landslide crashed into
Route 589 (Photo 26) and pushed the road down to Shinano River.

Photo 25 Photo 26

Railroads
The Shinkansen (bullet train) was derailed at Nagaoka City, which was the first derailment for
Shinkansen (Photo 27). The piers supporting the railway were affected as showed in Photos 28,
29, and 30. Other railroads were also closed due to settlement of the ground, bent rails, and
tilted poles and signals.

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 Flash Report
Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004

Photo 27 Photo 28

Photo 29 Photo 30

Lifelines
Electricity
According to Niigata Prefectural Government, 278,000 houses experienced blackouts on October
23 due to damage to electrical poles and lines (Photo 31). Even after three days, some areas
were still suffering from blackouts. According to Tokyo Electronic Power Company, the
Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant experienced a JMA intensity of 5-. No damage was
reported that caused a shutdown.

Natural Gas
According to Hokuriku Gas Corporation, 85 breakages were reported by 22:00 on October 23,
and 23 of the breakages occurred in buried pipes. A day after the main shock, the natural gas
supply to 56,000 houses in Nagaoka City and other cities was stopped. This shutdown was a
safety measure to prevent secondary damage. No noticeable fires took place. Further studies

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 Flash Report
Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, October 23, 2004
should be conducted to compare the fires to the fires during the 1995 Kobe Earthquake where fire
caused tremendous damage.

Water
Water supply was cut because of a failure in pumps due to the blackout and damage to pipes due
to liquefaction and ground subsidence. 109,904 houses were suffering from disruption of water
supply the day after the main shock. Five (5) days after the main shock, 15 cities were still facing
problems with the water supply. Manholes at many locations rose due to liquefaction (Photos 32
and 33).

Telecommunication
Right after the main earthquake, NTT East Corporation limited telephone calls to Niigata since the
number of calls was causing congestion. NTT East Corporation started its emergency voice mail
service (Dial 171). In Ojiya City, cell phones were not usable six (6) days after the main shock.

Photo 31 Photo 32

Photo 33

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