New earthquake probalility map from gov't

Probabilities of strong quakes up in eastern Japan

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20121222p2g00m0dm004000c.html

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The government released its latest earthquake probability map of Japan on Friday, showing an increased likelihood of strong earthquakes occurring in the Kanto region, including Tokyo, based on findings following the devastating March 2011 earthquake in northeastern Japan.

The map raised the probability of a strong earthquake measuring "lower 6" or more on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in the coming 30 years by 31 percentage points from the 2010 estimate to 62.3 percent for Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture.

The probability also rose by 11.9 points to 75.7 percent for Chiba city, by 4.1 points to 71.0 percent for Yokohama city, by 4.9 points to 27.3 percent for Saitama city and by 3.6 points to 23.2 percent for Tokyo.

Among major Japanese cities, Shizuoka posted the highest probability of 89.7 percent, though down 0.1 point from 2010.

High probabilities of strong earthquakes in waters off Ibaraki Prefecture and other zones were taken into account after the March 2011 earthquake, said the government's Earthquake Research Committee that made the map for Jan. 1 this year.

The probabilities had been underestimated at some locations before the disaster, it said.

Regions with higher probabilities should further enhance disaster reduction efforts, the committee said.