The 2001 Geiyo earthquake (2001年芸予地震 Nisen-ichi-nen Gēyo Jishin) occurred with a moment magnitude of 6.7 on March 24 at 15:27 local time near Hiroshima, Japan. One person in Hiroshima and one person in Ehime were reported dead. About 3,700 buildings were damaged in the Hiroshima area.[2]Liquefaction was observed in Hiroshima[3] and Ehime.[4] Power outages occurred in the prefectures of Hiroshima, Ehime, Okayama, Yamaguchi, and Kōchi. The maximum intensity was shindo lower 6 in Hiroshima.[5] This earthquake could be felt along the eastern and southern coasts of South Korea.[6]
The released seismic moment of the earthquake was 1.3×1019 Nm. This earthquake is a normal faulting intraslab event within the subductingPhilippine Sea plate.[7] The slip of the earthquake was estimated to be about 1.5–2.4 meters (4 ft 11 in – 7 ft 10 in). The locations of aftershocks were distributed roughly in N–S direction.[8] It has been suggested that this earthquake was related to the dehydration of the Philippine Sea plate slab.[9]
In this region, a strong earthquake occurred in 1905, which was also an intraslab event within the subducting plate.[10]
^Yoshimine, M. "2001 Geiyo Earthquake, Japan". Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Civil Engineering, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-01-10.