Precursory Activation of Seismicity in Advance of the Kobe, 1995, M = 7.2 Earthquake

Abstract

—A succession of precursory changes of seismicity characteristic to earthquakes of magnitude 7.0–7.5 occurred in advance of the Kobe 1995, M = 7.2, earthquake. Using the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) regional catalog of earthquakes, the M8 prediction algorithm (Keilies-Borko and Kossobokov, 1987) recognizes the time of increased probability, TIP, for an earthquake with magnitude 7.0–7.5 from July 1991 through June 1996. The prediction is limited to a circle of 280-km radius centered at 33.5°N, 133.75°E. The broad area of intermediate-term precursory rise of activity encompasses a 175 by 175-km square, where the sequence of earthquakes exhibited a specific intermittent behavior. The square is outlined as the second-approximation reduced area of alarm by the "Mendocino Scenario" algorithm, MSc (Kossobokov et al., 1990). Moreover, since the M8 alarm starts, there were no swarms recorded except the one on 9–26 Nov. 1994, located at 34.9°N, 135.4°E. Time, location, and magnitude of the 1995 Kobe earthquake fulfill the M8-MSc predictions. Its aftershock zone ruptured the 54-km segment of the fault zone marked by the swarm, directly in the corner of the reduced alarm area. The Kobe 1995 epicenter is less than 50 km from the swarm and it coincides with the epicenter of the M 3.5 foreshock which took place 11 hours in advance.