Photos published yesterday of the aftermath of a magnitude 6.7 earthquake that struck the northern island of Hokkaido at 3:07 A.M. local time, show an impressive series of landslides in the hills near the town of Atsuma.
Reportedly sixteen people are confirmed dead, buried by the mud, with several dozens still missing. The landslides are probably the result of the combined effects of the earthquake and Jebi, the worst typhoon in 25 years to hit Japan. The storm, making landfall around midday Tuesday, left at least eleven people dead, with wind-speeds of 130mph and delivering flooding rain.
According to the geological map of Japan, the underground in the area is composed of a compex succession of shale, mudstone, conglomerates and sandstone. The area is also deformed by tectonic movements, part of the Habiu-dome, and crossed by a series of faults. Such poorly consolidated and tectonized sediments, waterlogged and heavy after the rains, easily liquefy and collapse downwards when shacked during an earthquake, taking the forest cover along with.
