NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Great Hanshin earthquake

The Great Hanshin Earthquake, or Kobe earthquake as it is more commonly known outside of Japan, was an earthquake in Japan that occurred on Tuesday January 17, 1995 at 5:46 a.m. JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture. It measured Mw 6.8 on the Moment magnitude scale (USGS),^[1] and Mj7.3 on the revised (7.2 on the old) JMA magnitude scale.^[2] The tremors lasted for approximately 20 seconds. The focus of the earthquake was located 16 km beneath its epicenter,^[2] on the northern end of Awaji Island, 20 km away from the city of Kobe. Awaji Island (Jp. ... This article is about the natural seismic phenomenon. ... is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... An Imperial Ordinance issued on December 27, Meiji 28 (1895) Japan Standard Time (æ—¥æœ¬æ¨™æº–æ™‚ or ä¸å¤®æ¨™æº–æ™‚) is the standard timezone in Japan that is 9 hours ahead of UTC; i. ... HyÅgo Prefecture (å…µåº«çœŒ HyÅgo-ken) is located in the Kinki region on Honshu island, Japan. ... The moment magnitude scale was introduced in 1979 by Thomas C. Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori as a successor to the Richter scale and is used by seismologists to compare the energy released by earthquakes. ... InsertSLUTTY WHORESâ‰¤ non-formatted text here{| class=toccolours border=1 cellpadding=4 style=float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 20em; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; clear: right; |+ United States Geological Survey |- |style= align=center colspan=2| [[Image:USGS logo. ... Japan Meteorological Agency (気象庁) is a government agency, which is a central place responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan. ... For other uses, see Epicenter (disambiguation). ... Awaji Island (Jp. ... This article is about the Japanese city. ...

Approximately 6,434 people lost their lives (final estimate as of December 22, 2005); about 4,600 of them were of Kobe.^[3] Among major cities, Kobe with its population of 1.5 million was the closest to the epicenter and hit by the strongest tremors. This was the worst earthquake in Japan since the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, which claimed 140,000 lives. It caused approximately ten trillion yen or $200 billion USD in damage, 2.5% of Japan's GDP at the time. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the "costliest natural disaster to befall any one country." A view of the destruction in Yokohama. ... Japanese 10 yen coin (obverse) showing Phoenix Hall of Byodoin Yen is the currency used in Japan. ... Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World, Brampton. ...

Seismic intensity

This earthquake was the first case with any area where seismic intensity^(Note) (震度 shindo^?) was certified as the scale 7, which was introduced in 1949.

At observatory points, the seismic intensity was estimated at Image:Hyogo Awaji-city. ... This article is about the Japanese city. ... Image:Hyogo Ashiya-city. ... Nishinomiya (è¥¿å®®å¸‚; Nishinomiya-shi) is a city located in HyÅgo, Japan, between the cities of ÅŒsaka and KÅbe. ... Takarazuka ) is a city located in HyÅgo Prefecture, Japan. ...

Scale 5 at points in: Location of Sumoto Sumoto (æ´²æœ¬å¸‚; -shi) is a city located on Awaji island and in HyÅgo, Japan. ... Awaji Island (Jp. ...

Scale 4 at points in: For other uses, see Kyoto (disambiguation). ... Hikone (å½¦æ ¹å¸‚; -shi) is a city located in Shiga, Japan. ... Image:Hyogo Toyooka-city. ...

(Source) HyÅgo Prefecture (å…µåº«çœŒ HyÅgo-ken) is located in the Kinki region on Honshu island, Japan. ... Shiga Prefecture from outer space. ... The Iwashimizu Hachimangu, a Shinto shrine in Yawata. ... Fukui Prefecture ) is located in the ChÅ«bu region on HonshÅ« island, Japan. ... Gifu Prefecture (å²é˜œçœŒ Gifu-ken), is located in the Chubu region of central Japan. ... Mie Prefecture (ä¸‰é‡çœŒ; Mie-ken) is part of the Kinki region on Honshu island, Japan. ... Osaka Prefecture (å¤§é˜ªåºœ ÅŒsaka-fu) is part of the Kinki region on Honshu island, Japan. ... Nara Prefecture ) is a prefecture in the Kinki region on HonshÅ« Island, Japan. ... Wakayama Prefecture ) is part of the Kii Peninsula in the Kinki region on HonshÅ« island, Japan. ... The Tottori Sand Dunes. ... Okayama Prefecture ) is located in the ChÅ«goku region on HonshÅ« island, Japan. ... The headquarters of the government of the prefecture are in this building in the city of Hiroshima. ... Tokushima Prefecture ) is located on Shikoku island, Japan. ... Kagawa Prefecture ) is located on Shikoku island, Japan. ... KÅchi Prefecture ) is located on the south coast of Shikoku, Japan. ...

Japan Meteorological Agency (気象庁) is a government agency, which is a central place responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan. ...

Foreshocks and aftershocks

This earthquake of Mj 7.3 struck at 5:46 a.m. JST. An Imperial Ordinance issued on December 27, Meiji 28 (1895) Japan Standard Time (æ—¥æœ¬æ¨™æº–æ™‚ or ä¸å¤®æ¨™æº–æ™‚) is the standard timezone in Japan that is 9 hours ahead of UTC; i. ...

There were four foreshocks, beginning with the largest of Mj 3.7 at 6:28 p.m. the previous day. Aftershocks are earthquakes in the same region of the mainshock (generally within a few rupture length) but of smaller magnitude and which occur with a pattern that follows Omoris law. ...

Within 5 weeks, about 50 aftershocks (of Mj 4.0 or more) were observed.^[4] Aftershocks are earthquakes in the same region of the mainshock (generally within a few rupture length) but of smaller magnitude and which occur with a pattern that follows Omoris law. ...

Damages

Nada-ku (ç˜åŒº; Nada-ku) is one of 9 wards of Kobe City in Japan. ... Higashinada-ku (æ±ç˜åŒº; Higashi-Nada-ku) is one of 9 wards of Kobe City in Japan. ... Nagata-ku (é•·ç”°åŒº; Nagata-ku) is one of 9 wards of Kobe City in Japan. ... Ashiya (芦屋市; -shi) is a city located in Hyogo, Japan, between the cities of Osaka and Kobe. ... Hyogo-ku (å…µåº«åŒº; HyÅgo-ku) is one of 9 wards of Kobe City in Japan. ... Nishinomiya (è¥¿å®®å¸‚; Nishinomiya-shi) is a city located in HyÅgo, Japan, between the cities of ÅŒsaka and KÅbe. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 566 pixelsFull resolution (3498 Ã— 2473 pixel, file size: 534 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 566 pixelsFull resolution (3498 Ã— 2473 pixel, file size: 534 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...

Damage in cities and the suburbs

The majority of deaths, over 4000, occurred in cities and the suburbs in Hyōgo Prefecture. Ruptured gas lines ignited, fueled by the wooden construction material, and broken water mains hampered firefighters' efforts to combat them. Most of the older traditional houses had heavy tiled roofs which weighed around 2 tons, intended to resist the frequent typhoons that plagued Kobe, but they were only held up by a light wood support frame. When the wood supports gave way, the roof crushed the unreinforced walls and floors in a "pancake" collapse. Newer homes have reinforced walls and lighter roofs to avoid this. One in five of the buildings in the worst-hit area were completely destroyed (or rendered inhabitable). 22% of the offices in the CBD were unusable and over half of the houses in that area were deemed unfit to live in. HyÅgo Prefecture (å…µåº«çœŒ HyÅgo-ken) is located in the Kinki region on Honshu island, Japan. ...

The extent of the damage was considerably greater than in the Northridge earthquake, which, by coincidence, had occurred exactly one year before. The difference in the amount of damage experienced was in part due to the kind of ground Kobe was located on and the construction of its buildings (e.g. many unreinforced masonry buildings collapsed). Also, the intensity of the quake was considerably greater at ~7.2 vs. ~6.6 at Northridge. The immediate population bases of the two areas (Kobe area and San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles) were roughly the same -- ~ 2 million. The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California. ...

Transportation infrastructure damage

The damage to highways and subways was the most graphic image of the earthquake, and images of the collapsed elevated Hanshin Expressway made front pages of newspapers worldwide. Most people in Japan believed those structures to be relatively safe from earthquake damage by design. Though the initial belief was negligence, it was later shown that most of the collapsed structures were constructed properly to the building codes in the 1960s. However, the 1960s regulations were discovered to be inadequate and revised several times, the latest in 1981 which did prove effective but it only applied to new structures. A grandfather clause is an exception that allows an old rule to continue to apply to some existing situations, when a new rule will apply to all future situations. ...

Ten spans of the Hanshin Expressway Route 43 in three locations in Kobe and Nishinomiya were knocked over, blocking a link that carried forty percent of Osaka-Kobe road traffic. Half of the elevated expressway's piers were damaged in some way, and the entire route was not reopened until September 30, 1996. Three bridges on the less heavily used Route 2 were damaged, but the highway was reopened well ahead of Route 43 and served as one of the main intercity road links for a time. The Meishin Expressway was only lightly damaged, but was closed during the day until February 17, 1995 so that emergency vehicles could easily access the hardest-hit areas to the west. It wasn't until July 29 that all four lanes were open to traffic along one section (Kitamura, Yamamoto & Fujii 1998:240). Many surface highways were clogged for some time due to the collapse of higher-capacity elevated highways. Hanshin Expressway ) is a network of expressways surrounding Osaka and Kobe, Japan. ... is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The Meishin Expressway (åç¥žé«˜é€Ÿé“è·¯ Meishin-kÅsoku-dÅro) is an expressway in Japan. ... is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... is the 210th day of the year (211th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Great Hanshin Earthquake, or Kobe earthquake as it is more commonly known outside of Japan, was an earthquake in Japan that occurred on Tuesday January 17, 1995 at 5:46 a. ...

Most railways in the region were also damaged. In the aftermath of the earthquake, only 30% of the Osaka-Kobe railway tracks were operational. Daikai Station on the Kobe Rapid Railway line collapsed, bringing down part of National Route 30 above it. Wooden supports collapsed inside supposedly solid concrete pilings under the tracks of the Shinkansen high-speed rail line, causing the entire line to shut down. However, the railways rebounded quickly after the quake, reaching 80% operability in one month. KÅbe Rapid Railway (ç¥žæˆ¸é«˜é€Ÿé‰„é“ KÅbe kÅsoku-tetsudÅ) is a special railway company in central Kobe. ... For the record label, see Shinkansen Records. ...

Artificial islands in the Port of Kobe suffered some subsidence due to liquefaction of the soil; the water breaking to the surface did not come from the sea. However, the newly-completed artificial island supporting Kansai International Airport was not significantly affected, due to being further away from the epicenter and because it was built to the latest standards. The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, under construction near the earthquake's epicentre, was not damaged but was reportedly lengthened by a full meter due to horizontal displacement along the activated tectonic fault. Liquefaction may refer to: Soil liquefaction, the process by which sediments are converted into suspension, as in earthquake liquefaction, quicksand, quick clay, and turbidity currents. ... KIX redirects here. ... Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge Akashi_Kaikyo Bridge on April 27, 2003. ...

Response

In the aftermath, both citizens and specialists lost faith in the technology of their early warning systems and earthquake construction techniques. The national government of Japan was criticised for not acting quickly enough to save many people, for poorly managing Japanese volunteers, and for initially refusing help from foreign nations, including the United States, South Korea, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom. The language barriers and the obvious lack of Japanese medical licensing by foreign volunteers were cited as justification. A warning system is any system of biological or technical nature deployed by an individuum or group to inform of imminent danger. ... Earthquake construction is a branch of architectural engineering concerned with making sure structures can withstand as severe an earthquake shock as possible given the materials available. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956â€“present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic - President George W. Bush (R) - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... Language barrier is a figurative phrase for the difficulties of learning a new language. ... In most countries, only persons licensed by specified government-approved professional associations are allowed to practice medicine. ...

Local response

Local hospitals struggled to keep up with demand for medical treatment, largely due to collapsed or obstructed "lifelines" (roads) that kept supplies and personnel from reaching the affected areas. People were forced to wait in corridors due to the overcrowding and lack of space. Some people had to be operated on in waiting rooms and corridors.

Approximately 1.2 million volunteers were involved in relief efforts during the first three months following the earthquake. Retailers such as Daiei and 7-Eleven used their existing supply networks to provide necessities in affected areas, while NTT and Motorola provided free telephone service for victims. Even the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza syndicate was involved in distributing food and supplies to needy victims.^[8] For other uses, please see Daiei (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see 7-Eleven (disambiguation). ... NTT may refer to Nippon Telegraph and Telephone The New Technology Telescope in La Silla, Chile. ... Motorola Inc. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Yakuza (disambiguation). ...

To help speed the recovery effort, the government closed most of the Hanshin Expressway network to private vehicles from 6.00am to 8.00pm daily and limited traffic to buses, taxis and other designated vehicles (Kitamura, Yamamoto & Fujii 1998:260). To keep the light rail system running even though it had quite severely damaged sections, shuttle buses were commissioned to transfer patrons to stations around damaged sections (Kitamura, Yamamoto & Fujii 1998:256). The Great Hanshin Earthquake, or Kobe earthquake as it is more commonly known outside of Japan, was an earthquake in Japan that occurred on Tuesday January 17, 1995 at 5:46 a. ... The Great Hanshin Earthquake, or Kobe earthquake as it is more commonly known outside of Japan, was an earthquake in Japan that occurred on Tuesday January 17, 1995 at 5:46 a. ...

Other effects

Economic aftershocks

It caused approximately ten trillion yen or $200 billion in damage, 2.5% of Japan's GDP at the time. It listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the "costliest natural disaster to befall any one country." Most of the losses were uninsured, as only 3% of property in the Kobe area was covered by earthquake insurance, compared to 16% in Tokyo. Japanese 10 yen coin (obverse) showing Phoenix Hall of Byodoin Yen is the currency used in Japan. ... Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World, Brampton. ...

The sheer size of the earthquake caused a major decline in Japanese stock markets, with the Nikkei 225 index plunging by a thousand points in one day following the quake. This financial damage was the chief cause for the collapse of Barings Bank due to the actions of Nick Leeson, who had speculated vast amounts of money on Japanese and Singaporean derivatives. Nikkei 225 (æ—¥çµŒå¹³å‡æ ªä¾¡, æ—¥çµŒ225) is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). ... Barings Bank (1762 to 1995) was the oldest merchant banking company in London, England [1] until its collapse in 1995 after one of the banks employees, Nick Leeson, lost $1. ... Nicholas Leeson (English, born February 25, 1967) is a former derivatives trader whose unsupervised speculative trading caused the collapse of Barings Bank, the United Kingdoms oldest investment bank. ...

Revaluation of volunteerism

The fact that many Japanese volunteers ran to help victims was, so to say, an epoch-making thing on the history of volunteerism in Japan. The year 1995 is sometimes called "ボランティア元年" (Borantia gannen; the beginning year of volunteerism).

The government set a day and a week of "防災とボランティア" (Bōsai To Borantia; disaster prevention and volunteerism), the former on the anniversary January, 17 and the latter at January, 15-21. It was agreed at a Cabinet meeting on December, 15, 1995. (Source in Japanese)

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 993 KB) Summary Description: Memorial to those killed in the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Biwa Block, Nada Ward, Kobe city Source: My own photograph Date: Taken 2005-6-29; timestamp is for EDT Author: Lowell Silverman Permission: Creative Commons Attribution... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 993 KB) Summary Description: Memorial to those killed in the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Biwa Block, Nada Ward, Kobe city Source: My own photograph Date: Taken 2005-6-29; timestamp is for EDT Author: Lowell Silverman Permission: Creative Commons Attribution...

Effect on disaster prevention planning

The earthquake proved to be a major wake-up call for Japanese disaster prevention authorities. Japan installed rubber blocks under bridges to absorb the shock and rebuilt buildings further apart to prevent them from falling like dominoes. The national government changed its disaster response policies in the wake of the earthquake, and its response to the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake was significantly faster and more effective. The Ground Self-Defence Forces were given automatic authority to respond to earthquakes over a certain magnitude, which allowed them to deploy to the Niigata region within minutes. Control over fire response was likewise handed over from local fire departments to a central command base in Tokyo and Kyoto.^[9] The ChÅ«etsu Earthquakes ) began at 5:56 p. ... Niigata Prefecture ) is located on HonshÅ« island on the coast of the Sea of Japan. ...

In response to the widespread damage to transportation infrastructure, and the resulting effect on emergency response times in the disaster area, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport began designating special disaster prevention routes and reinforcing the roads and surrounding buildings so as to keep them as intact as possible in the event of another earthquake.^[10] Hyōgo's prefectural government invested millions of yen in the years following the quake to build earthquake-proof shelters and supplies in public parks.^[11]

Elsewhere in Japan, the Tokyo metropolitan government set up an emergency food and water supply network based around petrol stations, which were mostly unaffected in the Hanshin earthquake. However, citizens' groups have taken up the bulk of disaster planning, partly out of distrust for the government still held after the disaster in Kobe. For other uses, see Tokyo (disambiguation). ...

Memorials

The Kobe Luminarie, a small city of Christmas lights, is set up in the middle of Kobe City, as well as near Shin-Kobe Station every December in commemoration of the earthquake. Large "1.17" digits are illuminated at Higashi Yuenchi Park next to Kobe City Hall on January 17 of each year. Image File history File links Fire_char_kobe_2005. ... Image File history File links Fire_char_kobe_2005. ... Photo of the 2005 festival Kobe Luminarie ) is a light festival held in Kobe, Japan every December. ... Shin-KÅbe station (æ–°ç¥žæˆ¸é§… Shin-KÅbe eki) is a train station located at the foot of Mount Rokko in Kobe, Japan, and to the northeast of Sannomiya Station. ... is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Naming in Japanese

Japan Meteorological Agency officially named within in a few days this earthquake "平成７年兵庫県南部地震" (Heisei-Shichinen Hyōgo-ken-Nanbu jishin; 1995 Southern Hyōgo Prefecture Earthquake #1). Japan Meteorological Agency (気象庁) is a government agency, which is a central place responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan. ...

In the first 10 days, many news media of Japan began to use an ambiguous area name "阪神" (Hanshin) to refer to the disaster #2; however, calling the disaster only with "阪神" was unpopular among some people including 2 mayors of towns in northern Awaji Island, beneath which this earthquake arose. (Asahi Shimbun, January 28, 1995) Awaji Island (Jp. ...

Finally in February, 1995, the government officially named the disaster "阪神・淡路大震災" (Hanshin-Awaji Dai-shinsai; Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Disaster).

Plate tectonics

Brief on arising mechanisms of earthquakes in Japan

"Earthquakes occur not only around the plate boundary but also in the plates." (Source Y-p.23=p.21 of the booklet)

Japan is located on two sea plates, i.e. Philippine Sea Plate and Pacific Plate, and one or two land plates, i.e. Eurasian Plate (and North American Plate #1). Each of the sea plates is subducting beneath another plate. (See a plate map in Source X-p.3) The Philippine plate, shown in dull red The Philippine Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean to the east of the Philippines. ... The Pacific plate, shown in pale yellow The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean. ... The Eurasian plate, shown in green The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate covering Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia) except that it does not cover the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Verkhoyansk Range in East Siberia. ... The North American plate, shown in brown The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Cherskiy Range in East Siberia. ... Geometry of a subduction zone - insets to show accretionary prism and partial melting of hydrated asthenosphere. ...

Within the Japanese Archipelago, compressions exist in northwest-southeast or east-west directions. (Source X; Source Z) Sometimes the release of the energy causes earthquakes.

The North American plate, shown in brown The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Cherskiy Range in East Siberia. ...

Sorting earthquakes in Japan by arising mechanism

Type A is so to say "plate-boundary type." 1923 Great Kantō earthquake was of this type, for example. A view of the destruction in Yokohama. ...

Type B is so to say "inside-sea-plate type." 1933 Sanriku earthquake was of this type, for example. Geometry of a subduction zone - insets to show accretionary prism and partial melting of hydrated asthenosphere. ...

Type C is so to say "shallow-inland type." Kobe earthquake (1995 Southern Hyōgo Prefecture Earthquake) was of this type. Geometry of a subduction zone - insets to show accretionary prism and partial melting of hydrated asthenosphere. ...

Sources for "Plate tectonics" section: An active fault is a fault which has had displacement or seismic activity during the geologically recent period. ... Awaji Island (Jp. ...

Source Y (in English): "Earthquake and Tsunami - Monitoring and Information" by Japan Meteorological Agency. Japan Meteorological Agency (気象庁) is a government agency, which is a central place responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan. ...

Source Z (in English): "Seismic Activity in Japan" by the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion, Earthquake and Disaster-Reduction Research Division, the Research Promotion Bureau of MEXT. Office building The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ), also known as MEXT, is one of the ministries of the Japanese government. ...

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