MEDC Natural Hazard Case Study :

Kobe Earthquake (Kobe - 1995)

Kobe is a large city in central Japan. On Tuesday January 17 1995, at 5.46 local time, it fell victim to a devastating earthquake that measured 6.8 on the Richter scale. Japan lies on a NE-trending slip-fault some 200km to the North of the trench where the Philippine and Pacific Plates subduct beneath the Eurasian Plate.

The actual epicentre of the earthquake lied beneath the island of Awajishima, 20km off the coast (see diagram). Although the tremors lasted for less than a minute, the devastation was complete for some 100km around the city. Effects were also felt in Osaka and Kyoto. 'Earthquake-proof' buildings, roads and rail lines collapsed. Most of the destruction was caused by liquefaction of the ground. Over 5500 people were killed and many more suffered injuries. A quarter of a million lost their homes. Gas mains leaks caused fires across the city. After the initial quake came hundreds of smaller aftershocks, furthering the devastation and destruction. The damage was estimated to be in the region of $96 billion.

Despite all the advanced technology and scientific research in Japan, the Kobe earthquake showed that structures such as motorways were not safe. Geophysicists did not know that an earthquake was imminent, despite the government spending £637 million on earthquake research im the last thirty years.