Dave Fossett wrote:
> "quaker" <shaker@quake.com> wrote:
> 
> 
>>I recently learned that in Japan earthquakes (of which
>>there seem to be alot) are measured in both Magnitude and something called
>>Shindo.
>>Could anyone tell me what that measures?
>>And is their a conversion to magnitude?
> 
> Shindo corresponds to "intensity". While the magnitude of an earthquake is
> an absolute measure of its power, the intensity indicates the strength of
> the earthquake at a particular location and therefore differs according to
> distance from the epicentre. Intensity is more relevant to people on the
> ground as this is what they actually feel.

I noticed this also happens for earthquakes in North America, but 
usually doesn't get reported.  I found it on the USGS site when trying 
to find out about that Seattle quake from a couple years back.  The USGS 
produces "intensity" maps.

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