On Tuesday, January 17th 1995, at 5.46 a.m. (local time), an earthquake of magnitude 7.2 on the Richter Scale struck the Kobe region of south-central Japan. This region is the second-most populated and industrialized area after Tokyo, with a total population of about 10 million people. The ground shook for only about 20 seconds but in that short time, over 5,000 people died, over 300,000 people became homeless and damage worth an estimated £100 billion was caused to roads, houses, factories and infrastructure (gas, electric, water, sewerage, phone cables, etc).

Three crustal plates meet near to the coast of Japan. Close to Kobe, the denser oceanic Philippines Plate is disappearing beneath the lighter continental Eurasian Plate. The Japanese islands have been formed from the molten magma released by the melting Philippines Plate. Earthquakes are quite common here and happen because of the friction resulting from the two plates colliding along this destructive margin. [In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake killed 140,000 people in this area.] The great destruction which resulted from the 1995 Kobe Earthquake was due to the shallow depth of the focus which was only about 16 kms. below the surface and the fact that the epicentre occurred close to a very heavily populated area. Seismic shockwaves travelled from Awaji Island (the epicentre) along the Nojima Fault to the cities of Kobe and Osaka.

The immediate effects of the earthquake are known as primary effects. They include the collapse of buildings, bridges and roads due to the shaking of the crust. During the 20 second earthquake, the ground moved up to 50 centimetres horizontally and up to 1 metre vertically. Some of the deaths were caused by the primary effects. The secondary effects include the fires that broke out all over the city of Kobe, the congestion and chaos on the roads, the closure of businesses and the problem of homelessness. Many more people died in the fires that followed the earthquake.

Many of the older, wooden houses completely collapsed. Fire, triggered by broken gas pipes and sparks from severed electrical cables, caused a huge amount of damage, destroying at least 7,500 wooden homes. Office blocks built in the 1960's of steel and concrete frequently collapsed in the middle so that a whole floor was crushed but the rooms above and below remained intact. Modern buildings, designed to be earthquake proof, did quite well on the whole and suffered little damage, although some were left standing at an angle when the ground beneath them liquefied.

Almost 300,000 people were made homeless by the earthquake and had to be given emergency shelter. The severe winter weather (-2°C.) made this a serious problem. People were put in schools, town halls, open parks, etc. and were forced to live, in some cases for long periods, in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. Food, blankets, medical supplies and clean water were, for the first few days, in short supply.

Kobe is an important route centre. It has motorway (Hanshin Expressway) and intercity ('bullet train') railway lines passing through it and a large modern port which handles millions of tonnes of trade each year. The earthquake caused massive damage to all the transport facilities. Several sections of motorway, many of which were built above the ground on tall concrete stilts, collapsed or toppled sideways. Railway lines were buckled and many stations damaged. At the port, cranes tilted or fell and 120 (out of 150) quays where ships were moored were destroyed. Port buildings were badly damaged in many places.

Between 3% and 5% of Japan’s industry is located in and around Kobe. This includes most types of industry - from light manufacturing to high-technology and heavy industry. As in most of Japan, much of the industry is concentrated near the port on reclaimed land. Strong ground movements led to settlement and liquefaction in these areas and so damage to industry was severe. The difficulties of transporting raw materials and finished goods to, from, and within the region also caused great problems for industries such as Panasonic and Mitsubishi. Industries affected include shipbuilding, steelworks, breweries, pharmaceutical, computer and consumer goods firms.

Japan prides itself on being well prepared for earthquakes. Most new buildings and roads are designed to be earthquake proof, schools and factories have regular earthquake drills, etc. As it turned out, however, things did not go according to plan. Many older buildings collapsed or caught fire. This led to many blocked roads and much homelessness. Telephones and other communication services were put out of action making communication slow and difficult. Electricity and water supplies were badly damaged over large areas. This meant no power for heating, lights, cooking, etc. Clean, fresh water was in short supply. The government and city authorities were criticised for being slow to rescue people and for not finding enough emergency accommodation. Many people had to sleep in cars or tents in cold winter conditions.