Report on the 2008 Iwate-Miyagi-Nairiku, Japan Earthquake

The 2008 Iwate-Miyagi-Nairiku earthquake (M J 7.2, M W 6.9) struck the northern part of Japan. Twenty-three people were killed or missing, 450 were injured, and about 2,000 houses were damaged. The earthquake produced many strong-motion records including one with peak vertical acceleration of 4 g. Although the building damage was relatively small, the damage of roads was extensive due to landslides and slope failures. Large landslides and slope failures were identified in the high-resolution SAR image taken after the earthquake, suggesting the possibility of damage detection by the SAR image.