Mercalli intensity scale

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The Mercalli intensity scale is a seismic scale used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake. It measures the
effects of an earthquake, and is distinct from the moment magnitude usually reported for an earthquake
(sometimes described as the obsolete Richter magnitude), which is a measure of the energy released. The intensity
of an earthquake is not totally determined by its magnitude.

The scale quantifies the effects of an earthquake on the Earth's surface, humans, objects of nature, and man-made
structures on a scale from I (not felt) to XII (total destruction).[1][2] Values depend upon the distance to the
earthquake, with the highest intensities being around the epicentral area. Data gathered from people who have
experienced the quake are used to determine an intensity value for their location. The Mercalli (Intensity) scale
originated with the widely-used simple ten-degree Rossi-Forel scale, which was revised by Italian vulcanologist
Giuseppe Mercalli in 1884 and 1906.

In 1902 the ten-degree Mercalli scale was expanded to twelve degrees by Italian physicist Adolfo Cancani. It was
later completely re-written by the German geophysicist August Heinrich Sieberg and became known as the
Mercalli-Cancani-Sieberg (MCS) scale.

The Mercalli-Cancani-Sieberg scale was later modified and published in English by Harry O. Wood and Frank
Neumann in 1931 as the Mercalli-Wood-Neumann (MWN) scale. It was later improved by Charles Richter, the
father of the Richter magnitude scale.

The scale is known today as the Modified Mercalli scale (MM) or Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (MMI).

Contents
1 Modified Mercalli Intensity scale
1.1 Correlation with physical quantities
1.2 Comparison to the moment magnitude scale
2 Historical analysis
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Modified Mercalli Intensity scale

The lower degrees of the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale generally deal with the manner in which the earthquake
is felt by people. The higher numbers of the scale are based on observed structural damage.

The small table is a rough guide to the degrees of the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale.[1][2] The colors and
descriptive names shown here differ from those used on certain shake maps in other articles.
The large table gives Modified Mercalli scale intensities that are typically observed at locations near the epicenter of
the earthquake.[1]

The correlation between magnitude and intensity is far from total, depending upon several factors including the
depth of the earthquake, terrain, population density, and damage. For example, on May 19, 2011 an earthquake of
magnitude 0.7 in Central California, United States 4 km deep was classified as of intensity III by the United States
Geological Survey (USGS) over 100 miles (160 km) away from the epicenter (and II intensity almost 300 miles
(480 km) from the epicenter), while a 4.5 magnitude quake in Salta, Argentina 164 km deep was of intensity I.[3]

Typical
Maximum
Magnitude Modified
Mercalli
Intensity
Under 2.0 I II
2.0 2.9 I III
3.0 3.9 II V
4.0 4.9 III VII
5.0 5.9 IV VIII
6.0 6.9 VI X
VIII or
7.0 7.9 higher; up
to XII
VIII or
8.0 8.9 higher; up
to XII
VIII or
9.0 9.9 higher; up
to XII
IX or
10.0 or
higher; up
higher
to XII

Generally not felt by people unless in

I. Instrumental favorable conditions.

Felt only by a few people at rest,

especially on the upper floors of buildings.
II. Weak Delicately suspended objects (including
chandeliers) may swing slightly.
 Felt quite noticeably by people indoors,
especially on the upper floors of buildings.
Many do not recognize it as an
earthquake. Standing automobiles may
III. Slight rock slightly. Vibration similar to the
passing of a truck. Duration can be
estimated. Indoor objects (including
chandeliers) may shake.

Felt indoors by many to all people, and

outdoors by few people. Some awakened.
People can report it as strong intensity.
Dishes, windows, and doors disturbed,
and walls make cracking sounds.
IV. Moderate Chandeliers and indoor objects shake
noticeably. The sensation is more like a
heavy truck striking building. Standing
automobiles rock noticeably. Dishes and
windows rattle alarmingly. Damage none to
minimal/very light.

Felt inside by most, may not be felt by

some outside in non-favorable conditions.
Dishes and windows may break and bells
will ring. Vibrations are more like a large
V. Rather Strong train passing close to a house. Possible
slight damage to buildings. Liquids may
spill out of glasses or open containers. A
few people are frightened and run
outdoors.

Felt by everyone, outside or inside; many

frightened and run outdoors, walk
unsteadily. Windows, dishes, glassware
broken; books fall off shelves; some heavy
VI. Strong furniture moved or overturned; a few
instances of fallen plaster. Damage slight to
moderate to poorly designed buildings, all
others receive none to slight damage.

Difficult to stand. Furniture broken.

Damage light in building of good design
and construction; slight to moderate in
VII. Very Strong ordinarily built structures; considerable
damage in poorly built or badly designed
 structures; some chimneys broken.
Noticed by people driving automobiles.

Damage slight in structures of good design,

VIII. Destructive
considerable in normal buildings with a
possible partial collapse. Damage great in
poorly built structures. Brick buildings
easily receive moderate to extremely heavy
damage. Possible fall of chimneys, factory
stacks, columns, monuments, walls, etc.
Heavy furniture moved.

General panic. Damage slight to moderate

in well-designed structures. Well-designed
structures thrown out of plumb. Damage
moderate to great in substantial buildings,
IX. Violent with a possible partial collapse. Some
buildings may be shifted off foundations.
Walls can fall down or collapse.

Many well-built structures destroyed,

collapsed, or moderately to severely
X. Intense damaged. Most other structures
destroyed, possibly shifted off foundation.
Large landslides.

Few, if any structures remain standing.

XI. Extreme Numerous landslides, cracks and
deformation of the ground.

Total destruction everything is destroyed.

XII. Catastrophic
Lines of sight and level distorted. Objects
thrown into the air. The ground moves in
waves or ripples. Large amounts of rock
move position. Landscape altered, or
leveled by several meters. Even the routes
of rivers can be changed.

Correlation with physical quantities

The Mercalli scale is not defined in terms of more rigorous, objectively quantifiable measurements such as shake
amplitude, shake frequency, peak velocity, or peak acceleration. Human perceived shakings and building damages
are best correlated with peak acceleration for lower-intensity events, and with peak velocity for higher-intensity
events.[4]
Comparison to the moment magnitude scale

The effects of any one earthquake can vary greatly from place to place, so there may be many Mercalli intensity
values measured for the same earthquake. These values can be best displayed using a contoured map. Each
earthquake, on the other hand, has only one magnitude.

Historical analysis
Moment Mercalli
Earthquake Death Toll
Magnitude intensity
1920 Haiyuan earthquake 235,502 7.8[5]8.5[6] XII
1976 Tangshan earthquake 242,769 7.88.2 XI[7]
1908 Messina earthquake 150,000200,000 7.2 XI
1964 Good Friday/Anchorage/Alaska 143. Totals include
9.2 XI
earthquake tsunami.
1995 Kobe/Great Hanshin earthquake 6,434 6.87.3 XXI[7]
1994 Northridge/Los Angeles earthquake 60 6.7 X
1755 Boston/Massachusetts/New England
0 5.96.3 VIII
earthquake
1977 Vrancea earthquake 1,578 7.2 XXI
2010 Canterbury earthquake 0 7.1 X
2010 Haiti earthquake 316,000 7.0 X
1980 Irpinia earthquake 2,914 6.5 X
2011 Van earthquake 432 7.2 X
18,500. Totals include
2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami 9.0 IX[8]
tsunami.
2011 Christchurch earthquake 185 6.3 IX[9]

See also
Other seismic scales
Hayward Fault Zone for seismic shake maps using the Modified Mercalli scale
Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale
Isoseismal map
Strong ground motion
Rohn Emergency Scale for measuring the magnitude (intensity) of any emergency

References
 1. ^ a b c "Magnitude / Intensity Comparison" (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/mag_vs_int.php) . USGS.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/mag_vs_int.php.
2. ^ a b "Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale" (http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/doc/mmi.html) . Association of
Bay Area Governments (ABAG). http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/doc/mmi.html.
3. ^ USGS: Did you feel it? for 20 May 2011 (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/)
4. ^ "ShakeMap Scientific Background" (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/shakemap/background.php) . USGS.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/shakemap/background.php.
5. ^ "Most Destructive Known Earthquakes on Record in the World". Earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
(http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/most_destructive.php.)
6. ^ "10 Greatest Earthquakes in China in 20th Century" (in Chinese). Ningxia Daily website. 2008-05-15. Retrieved
2008-06-02. (http://www.nxnet.cn/shouye/zktj/shxb/200805/t20080515_215065.htm)
7. ^ a b "World Earthquakes Tangshan, China, 1976"
(http://bcs.whfreeman.com/earthquakes/content/cat_490/bt00eh05.htm#Tangshan,%20China,%201976) .
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/earthquakes/content/cat_490/bt00eh05.htm#Tangshan,%20China,%201976. Retrieved
2011-03-09.
8. ^ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/pager/events/us/c0001xgp/index.html
9. ^ http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/historic-earthquakes/top-nz/quake-14.html

External links
National Earthquake Information Center (U.S.) (http://neic.usgs.gov)
Mercalli Scale Simulator (http://elearning.niu.edu/simulations/images/S_portfolio/Mercalli/Mercalli_Scale.swf)
, Northern Illinois University
John N. Louie (http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/mercalli.html) , Associate Professor of
Seismology at the University of Nevada

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Categories: Seismic scales

This page was last modified on 13 November 2012 at 19:11.

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