kobe, Awaji, JAPAN
The Kobe Earthquake, or Great Hanshin Earthquake, was a large-scale earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1995, in the Hanshin metropolitan area of south-western Japan, and was one of the costliest, most destructive, and deadliest quakes to ever hit the country, causing an estimated total repair cost of more than 100 billion dollars, destroying 240,000 homes, and killing around 6,500 people.
The epicenter of the Kobe Earthquake was only twelve miles off the coast of the major port city of Kobe, a densely populated region, in the northern part of the Japanese island Awaji, which is why it caused so much damage and death. The earthquake was caused by movement in the Nojima Fault, which cuts across Awaji island, and measured 6.9 on the Moment Magnitude Scale, or 7.3 on the richter scale, making it officially a major earthquake, and the focus or hypocenter was 12.5 miles below the epicenter.
The epicenter of the Kobe Earthquake was only twelve miles off the coast of the major port city of Kobe, a densely populated region, in the northern part of the Japanese island Awaji, which is why it caused so much damage and death. The earthquake was caused by movement in the Nojima Fault, which cuts across Awaji island, and measured 6.9 on the Moment Magnitude Scale, or 7.3 on the richter scale, making it officially a major earthquake, and the focus or hypocenter was 12.5 miles below the epicenter.
IMPACT OF THE EARTHQUAKE
The Kobe Earthquake was only one of a huge line of earthquakes in Japan, so examples of what effects earthquakes have on the economy, culture and infrastructure of the country are abundant. Earthquakes can destroy farmland, with the movement of the land and with gas leak explosions that are common following earthquakes, they can destroy shops or businesses, and sometimes result in looting, the cost of rebuilding after an earthquake is very steep, and, especially in the Kobe earthquake, transportation and communication mediums can be shut down, making it hard to move goods or trade, like the massive highway that collapsed during the earthquake shown above. All these factors can greatly impact the economy of Japan following an earthquake.
EARTHQUAKES IN JAPANESE CULTURE
Also, since earthquakes have been fairly common in Japan, the culture of the country has been impacted by these disasters, specifically after a large earthquake in Edo in the 1800’s, when woodblock prints depicting Namazu became common. Namazu is a Japanese folk deity, a giant subterranean catfish who, when he thrashes and writhes, creates earthquakes. Also, earthquakes have influenced the infrastructure of Japan greatly, so that now it is one of the most earthquake-prepared countries in the world, a title it has achieved by setting strict regulations and rules about infrastructure and architecture. Japanese buildings are made earthquake resistant by being designed with deep foundations and huge shock absorbers to dampen any seismic energy, and some buildings even have bases that can move independently from the rest of the structure, reducing shaking. Despite these countermeasures, the Kobe Earthquake shocked the Japanese people when it created massive damage to even earthquake proof buildings, putting the government under heavy criticism and resulting in modifications to many of the previous laws regarding earthquake safety.