In this paper, the peak ground velocity (PGV) distribution during the western Tottori earthquake of 2000 is evaluated based on the overturning ratio of tombstones. More than 80 cm/s of PGVs are estimated in the source region, which almost correspond to those near the most heavily damaged area in the Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake of 1995. Then, we demonstrate that the severe damage ratios of wooden houses are fairy small compared with those in Kobe earthquake. Finally, the effects of ground motion characteristics to the difference are studied based on earthquake response analyses using accelerograms during the two earthquakes.