1997 Volume 106 Issue 4 Pages 486-502
A field survey of the damage of the Amami-Oshima-Kinkai earthquake (Mw 7.1) and its tsunami of October 18, 1995 was conducted for four days from the next day of the main shock. A large aftershock (Mw 6.8) occurred in the next day and was also accompanied with a small tsunami. We conducted interviews of the inhabitants, and measured heights of the both tsunamis. The maximum height of the tsunami of the main shock was 3.0 m at Urahara Port on the south coast of Kikai-jima. Earthquake damage mainly occurred on Kikai-jima, where stone walls were fallen down at 91 places, the water supply facility of the island was disordered, and several concrete slabs slid down at Wan Port. Several fishing boats were wrecked due to the both tsunamis at ports on Kikai-jima and Amami-Oshima. Imamura-Hatori's magnitudes of the main shock and the large aftershock are m=1.0 and m=0.0, respectively. Abe's magnitude of the tsunamis the main shock is estimated to be Mt=7.6 and is large for the earthquake magnitude. A gigantic earthquake (M8.0) with a larger tsunami occurred on June 15, 1911 in the sea region close to the present event, and its folktale is handed down by the inhabitants of Kikai-jima.
