Very Strong
Very strong shaking · Moderate damage potential
Difficult to stand. Noticed by drivers. Damage negligible in well-built structures; considerable in poorly built ones.
Effects
People & Response
- Difficult to stand; movement hard to control
- Noticed by drivers of motor vehicles
- General alarm; many people run outdoors
Objects & Furnishings
- Large church bells ring
- Heavy furniture overturned
- Waves on ponds; water turbid with mud
Structures & Environment
- Chimneys cracked considerably
- Plaster falls in large amounts
- Trees and bushes shaken moderately to strongly
- Considerable damage in poorly built structures
Also at this level, in other versions of the scale
- Some chimneys broken USGS, The Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (table image on that page)
- Slight to moderate damage in well-built ordinary structures USGS, The Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (table image on that page)
Observed at this level
Camera footage our reviewer rated VII from the effects it shows. All 6 clips at VII · Random clip at VII
Simulated at this level
Our physics animations of familiar objects, shaken by the ground motion estimated for a city at intensity VII.
Video Example
Descriptions are verbatim from the USGS MMI Scale, based on Wood & Neumann (1931) and Richter (1958). Source: USGS Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale .
Instrumental intensity values and PGA/PGV ranges from USGS ShakeMap V4 Technical Documentation (Worden et al.). Intensity Lab reports MMI derived via the Worden et al. (2012) GMICE, interpolated from USGS ShakeMap. PGA/PGV ranges are approximate; actual values overlap between adjacent levels.