Fukuoka Earthquake - March 20, 2005

On Sunday Morning, March 20, 2005 we experience a rather strong earthquake centered in the Genkai (the sea between Fukuoka and Korea) just 25 miles from Fukuoka. It was reported to be a magnitude 7.0 earthquake by the Japanese media (I have seen a reading of 6.4 elsewhere). On the Japanese intensity scale (which goes from 1 to 7) it was rated a weak 6. It was definitely a very strong earthquake, the strongest either of us have experienced and the strongest in Fukuoka for over 100 years. As of Sunday night, I have heard of only one death in the area, but there were numerous injuries. We continue to have aftershock at a rate of many an hour. The missionaries in our neighborhood (Barkleys, Schaffner, Hankins) are also OK and we heard from the Nortons in eastern Fukuoka and they too are OK. The photos below are, first, of the damage in our house--relatively minor, but much breakage. Then, we walked through Seinan Gakuin campus and took photos of damage there, then we went down toward the beach and documented further damage. Overall, the city seems to have fared well for such an intense earthquake. We thank God for His protection. Also, we thank you for your prayers and concern. When you are finished with this page, you can go back to our Ministry Update page by clicking here or you can return to my home page by clicking here. Also, if you are so inclined, please add a comment at the bottom of this page.

April 20, 2005: This morning, at 6:11 AM, one month to the day after the original earthquake, we had the strongest aftershock yet. We were just commenting yesterday that maybe they are over now, since it had been several days since we had felt one. We were wrong! This one was a magnitude 5.8 quake, compared to the original 7.0. However, on the Japanese scale of intensity it was just a little weaker than the original one (5+ for this one compared to 6- for the original). I would agree with that, as we had more dish breakage in our china cabinet than in the big one, including one antique Japanese dish and some of my mother's china that I remember from my early childhood. There are no reports of injury or serious damage from this one, but, needless to say, the aftershocks are rather unnerving. In a related matter, I talked with the president of Seinan Gakuin University last Sunday (we are both basses in the church choir), and he said that the total repair bill for the university was 90 million yen, which is about $830,000!

April 20, 2005: Aftershocks continue. We have had three rather strong ones since the 6:11 AM quake, the one at 9:09 AM being a magnitude 5.1! It seemed to be shaking in a different direction (?), since nothing fell from the china cabinet (which runs east-west), but photos fell off of our piano (which runs north-south).


You can click on any thumbnail to see a larger photo, or click on the 1st one and use the arrows to see them one by one.	Our Bedroom	Sewing Room	Genkan (entryway hall)	Genkan


Genkan	Kitchen	Kitchen	Dining Room	Living Room


Living Room	Seinan Gym	Seinan Gym	Seinan Gym	Seinan Chapel


Seinan Chapel	Seinan Chapel	Seinan Chapel	Seinan	Seinan


Seinan	Seinan	Seinan	Seinan: My Office	Seinan: My Office


Seinan: My Lab	Seinan: My Lab	Seinan: Lab Nextdoor	Seinan: Lab Nextdoor	Seinan: Lab Nextdoor


Seinan	Seinan	Seinan	Expressway Closed	Bon Repas Grocers


Bon Repas Grocers	Apetito Restaurant	Apetito Restaurant	Liquefaction	Liquefaction


Marizon at Momochi Beach	Marizon	Marizon	Marizon	Marizon


Marizon	Marizon	Marizon	Marizon	Marizon


Near Fukuoka Tower	Near Tower	Near Tower	Near Tower	Near Tower


Near Tower	Near Tower	Near Tower	Library	Library


Library	Library	Tenjin	Akasaka Starbucks	Akasaka


Akasaka	Akasaka	Akasaka	Thanks to Stéphane Domergue, exchange student, for these photos of Downtown

The Fukuoka Earthquake (An excerpt from my text, "The Natural World of Japan," available for $20 plus shipping. E-mail me.)

One reason the Great Hanshin Earthquake was so devastating was that this region was not thought to be particularly earthquake-prone, so human and structural preparations were not as good as they might have been. This was deﬁnitely the case for the Fukuoka Earthquake of March 20, 2005 (Figures above), which came as a surprise to even the best seismologists. Incidentally, this earthquake has oﬃcially been dubbed "The West Oﬀ Fukuoka Prefecture Earthquake," but since that is one of the most atrocious mouthfuls of badly juxtaposed words I have encounter in my years in Japan, I will just refer to it as the Fukuoka Earthquake. It registered a magnitude of 7.0 and there was one death reported, with numerous injuries. The epicenter was in the Genkai (玄海, the sea just oﬀ Fukuoka) less than 30 kilometers from downtown Fukuoka resulting in ground shaking of 6- (lower 6) on the Japanese Scale (See Figure below). Genkai Island, much nearer the epicenter than Fukuoka, suﬀered more extensive damage. A strong, magnitude 5.8 aftershock exactly one month later produced ground shaking of 5+ (upper 5) on the Japanese Scale, only slightly weaker than the 7.0 magnitude quake because the epicenter was closer to Fukuoka.

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