Shindo Shaking Scale

About Shindo Shaking Scale

• The Shindo (Seismic Intensity) Scale  is Japan’s unique seismic scale that measures the degree of shaking and its effects at a specific location during an earthquake. 
• Scale range: The scale ranges from 0 to 7.
  •  Shindo 5 and Shindo 6 further divided into lower and upper levels, making a total of 10 intensity categories. 
• Measurement: Unlike earthquake magnitude, the Shindo Scale measures the shaking experienced at a place rather than the energy released at the earthquake source.
• Monitoring system: Japan now measures Shindo through a nationwide network of seismographs, which supports its earthquake early-warning system. 

About Other Scales Related to Earthquakes

• Earthquakes are measured using two main types of scales.
  • Magnitude scales measure the size or energy released by an earthquake, while intensity scales measure the degree of shaking and its effects at a particular location.
• Intensity Scales:
  • Mercalli Intensity Scale: It measures earthquake intensity based on the effects on people, buildings, and the Earth’s surface.
    • Developed by: It was originally developed by Giuseppe Mercalli.
    • Scale range: It has 12 intensity levels, from Intensity I to Intensity XII.
    • Method of measurement: It evaluates earthquakes through observed damage and human experience, rather than instrumental measurements.
  • Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik (MSK-64) Scale: It is a macroseismic intensity scale used to assess the severity of ground shaking from observed effects.
    • Developed by: It was proposed by Sergei Medvedev, Wilhelm Sponheuer, and Vít Kárník in 1964.
    • Measurement type: It is an intensity scale.
    • Scale range: It contains 12 intensity degrees expressed in Roman numerals.
    • Method of measurement: It measures earthquake intensity using the observed effects of ground shaking.
• Magnitude Scales: Unlike intensity, the magnitude of an earthquake remains the same regardless of location.
  • Richter Scale (ML): It measures the magnitude of an earthquake, representing the energy released at its source.
    • Developed by: It was invented in 1935 by Charles F. Richter.
    • Scale: It is a base-10 logarithmic magnitude scale, where each one-unit increase represents a tenfold increase in magnitude.
    • Method of measurement: It measures the amplitude (height) of the largest seismic wave recorded by a seismograph and applies corrections for the distance between the seismograph and the earthquake’s epicentre.
    • Limitation: It measures the magnitude of an earthquake but does not measure the damage caused by the earthquake.
  • Moment Magnitude Scale (Mw): It is a logarithmic magnitude scale that measures the total amount of energy released by an earthquake.
    • Developed by: It was developed in the 1970s by Japanese seismologist Hiroo Kanamori and American seismologist Thomas C. Hanks.
    • It is the only scale capable of reliably measuring the magnitudes of the largest and most destructive earthquakes, including those greater than magnitude 8.
    • Method of measurement: It measures earthquake size using the fault slip, fault area, and rock rigidity, providing accurate estimates even for very large earthquakes.