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Human Behavioral Response in the M7.5 Noto Hanto Japan Earthquake of January 1, 2024: Did Receiving an Earthquake Early Warning Affect Response?

Description: 

The January 1, 2024 earthquake located in the Noto Hanto peninsula area of Ishikawa Prefecture measured M7.5 at a depth of 10 km. The earthquake occurred at 4:10 PM local time and generated a maximum intensity of 7 on the Japanese Shindo scale. As of February 9, the Japanese Red Cross reported 241 fatalities, 1,291 injuries, 45,231 residential buildings collapsed or damaged and a sheltered population of 13,469 in 522 evacuation shelters https://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/2024NotoPeninsulaEarthquake.html. A total of 393 people completed the USGS ‘Did you feel it?’ (DYFI) questionnaire reporting their experience of the earthquake and 67 responded to the new earthquake early warning (EEW) supplemental questionnaire implemented in February 2022. The earthquake in Japan is the largest event to date to include data on receipt of an EEW within the larger context of the DYFI system. Though the number of respondents was not large, there were some trends in the data that may be suggestive of response to other large earthquakes in countries with EEW systems. The data include whether an EEW was received before, during or after shaking was experienced; the length of the alert in seconds; where the respondent was located when the alert was received; who he/she was with; and most important, how the respondent responded to the EEW received. There are additional questions on respondent perceptions of the usefulness of the EEW and preferences for future alerts. The EEW questionnaire also includes demographic data on age, gender and educational attainment. Preliminary review of the data suggests that those who received an EEW were more likely than those who did not to actively (vs. passively) respond and to respond according to the recommended drop, cover and hold on procedure. Other findings based on the DYFI supplemental EEW questionnaire suggest that users find the EEW system in Japan useful and that early alerts will likely promote adaptive behavioral response in future earthquakes.

Session: The 2024 Magnitude 7.5 Earthquake and the Associated Earthquake Swarm Beneath the Noto Peninsula, Central Japan - II

Type: Oral

Date: 5/3/2024

Presentation Time: 10:30 AM (local time)

Presenting Author: James

Student Presenter: No

Invited Presentation: 

Authors