M7.3 Namie, Japan

Similar Stochastic Events | Summary
Posting Date: March 17, 2022, 5:00:00 PM

An M7.3 earthquake with a focal depth of 63.1 km struck offshore the island of Honshu, Japan, 57 km east-northeast of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, at 14:36 UTC (11:36 p.m., local time) on March 16, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Tsunami advisories were issued immediately afterward by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) for coastal regions in the Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, as tsunami height was expected to be up to 1 meter there. The tsunami advisory was canceled at 5 a.m. on March 17, local time, after tsunami waves of about one third of 1 meter reached the shore.  

ALERT™ subscribers can download similar stochastic event (SSE) IDs for this event from the Downloads tab. Compatible with Touchstone® and Touchstone Re™ the SSEs were selected based on event parameters (not industry losses) and should be used only for exposures in Japan. The information provided herein is strictly confidential and is solely for the use of our clients; disclosure to others is prohibited unless noted in your software license.

Reported Damage and Disruption 

Health and Welfare 

Buildings in Tokyo shook for more than two minutes. In Fukushima, which is farther north, the shaking was much more powerful. 

At least three people have died and at least 225 have been reported injured in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures because of the quake. Many of these casualties are related to fallen objects.  

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Japan’s Self-Defense Forces have been mobilized to assess the extent of the damage caused by the quake. The first priority is rescuing people and to provide accurate information to the general public. Authorities said emergency services had been swamped with calls. 

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, as of 1:00 p.m., local time, there were three power and five water outages at hospitals in Fukushima Prefecture; they are using backup generators and water from water tanks. The power and water outages at medical institutions in Miyagi Prefecture have been resolved. 

Utilities 

More than 2.2 million homes had their electricity temporarily cut in 14 prefectures, including the Tokyo region, but by mid-morning, local time, power had been restored to most areas, according to the Tohoku Electric Power Company. Before the light of day, one house in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, whose electricity was restored, was engulfed by fire and destroyed soon afterward. Police and fire departments are still investigating the cause. 

Authorities said that they detected no abnormalities at the Fukushima nuclear power plant after the quake. 

Travel 

A bullet train that was not moving fast at the time and carrying about 100 people between the Fukushima and Shiroshizaou stations derailed north of the City of Fukushima because of the quake. Passengers and crew were trapped for four hours and then escaped unharmed.  

According to the Miyagi Prefectural Police Headquarters, a line between the Shiroishi Interchange on the Tohoku Expressway and the Kunimi Interchange in Fukushima Prefecture, was temporarily suspended after the quake. The Tohoku Expressway in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures can now be reached on all lines. 

Supply Chain 

Automobile parts manufacturer Hitachi Astemo suspended operations at four plants in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. And major paper manufacturer Nippon Paper Industries stopped operating at two factories in Miyagi prefecture. Both companies are conducting detailed damage assessments and equipment inspection. 

In Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, about 300 convenience stores representing a few chains closed temporarily, in addition to some major supermarkets, due to lack of product and power. 

At Ishikoshimachi, a 100-year-old sake brewing company in the City of Tome, Miyagi Prefecture, the quake shook liquor bottles and cases of liquor. The company is preparing to resume business tomorrow, but the quake has affected the shipper it uses for deliveries. 

Two 40-meter-tall cranes that lift coal from ships for overland transport broke because of the quake, causing the upper half to fall away at a wharf of Soma Port in Fukushima Prefecture. 

Buildings 

A concert hall’s ceiling partially collapsed and its windows were broken in the City of Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture. In addition, it was cut off from its water supply. The hall is part of a larger complex. The ceilings and walls of some stores in a mall in the City of Tome, Miyagi Prefecture were damaged and the entrance was blocked, so it is temporarily closed. 

There remains considerable uncertainty in the eventual losses from this event at this time. The set of similar stochastic events released today are based on study of ground motion observations, early damage reports, and historical events in this area. The ALERT Team will continue to study this event and will provide an update and/or information on additional plans no later than Monday, March 21. 

Similar Stochastic Events | Downloads
Posting Date: March 17, 2022, 5:00:00 PM

The information provided herein is strictly confidential and is solely for the use of AIR clients; disclosure to others is prohibited.

Similar Stochastic Event IDs

Note: These lists give event IDs taken from our stochastic catalog that have similar characteristics as the current event.

Product	File Type	Description	Download
TOUCHSTONE / RE	Excel (xls)	Selected set of stochastic events
TOUCHSTONE / RE	CSV	Selected set of stochastic events