Groundshaking damage to buildings, Japan

So much of the damage done after the Tohoku quake resulted from the tsunami, but there was also damage of buildings due to the groundshaking in high areas that were not damaged by the tsunami. Some reports and images can be found at the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute web site.

A number of field reports on damage done in the epicentral area are given here.

A report by Shunzuke Otani on Building Damage in Sendai says:

"Miki Shoji Co, a commercial business company, reported building damage statistics by external observation along the Sendai main street; out of 175 buildings
          No damage: 95
          Some damage, but could be operational in short time: 66
          Severe damage, need some time before use: 14
          Collapse or tilting: 0
Sendai is the largest city in the affected area.  A church in Mito City, Ibaragi Prefecture, suffered severe damage in the tower. A automobile ramp to the roof parking area collapse and killed three persons in automobiles; the ramp is supported by steel columns and connected to the main structure of a super market building."  Images of these are shown below.

Sendai church damage

Sendai parking garage damage