Why did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake occurred because Kobe is situated on a minor fault, known as the Nojima fault, which lies above a destructive plate margin. This is where the Pacific, Eurasian, and Philippine plates meet. On contact with the Eurasian plate, the Philippine plate gets forced downwards. This has created volcanic activity and means that Japan is under constant threat from severe earthquakes
When did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake occurred at 5.46am on 17 January 1995.
It recorded 7.2 on the Richter scale and lasted for 2 or 3 minutes. Through out that time the ground moved both horizontally and vertically.
What were the effects of the earthquake?
There are two classes of earthquake effects: Direct and Secondary
Direct
- Nearly 200,000 buildings collapsed
- A 1km stretch of the Hanshin expressway collapsed
- Several trains on minor lines were cleared when many bridges along a 130km section of a train route collapsed
- 120 of the 150 quays in the port of Kobe were destroyed
Secondary
- Electricity, gas and water supplies were disrupted
-
Fires, caused by broken gas pipes and ruptured electricity mains, were alight for several days, destroying 7500 houses( mainly made out of
wood).
- Roads were at gridlock, delaying ambulances and fire engines.
- People were afraid to return home as the 716 recorded aftershocks lasted several days after the main event.
- Industries such as Mitsubishi and Panasonic were forced to close
What happened in the months after the earthquake?
- Kobe’s water, electricity, gas and telephone services were fully operational by July
- Most commercial buildings in central areas had been repaired
- All rail services were back to normal by August
- One year later the port of Kobe was 80% functional but the Hanshin Expressway remained closed.
- There was an increase in the number of seismic instruments to record earth movements in the region.
The Richter Scale
Less than 3.5 = normally only detected by instruments
3.5 to 5.4 = often felt but rarely causes damage
Under 6.0 = at most slight damage to well designed buildings. Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings
6.1 to 6.9 = can be destructive in areas up to about 100 kilometres across where people live
7.0 to 7.9 = can cause serious damage over a large area
8 or greater = can cause serious damage in areas hundreds of kilometres across
