It lasted about 20 seconds and registered as a magnitude 6.9 (7.3 on the Richter scale). The problem was pervasive because the majority of the waterfront facilities were reclaimed lands consisting of loose to medium-dense cohesionless fills. Earth’s tectonic plates fit together in a jigsaw puzzle of plate boundaries. Burning and collapsed buildings in Kōbe, Japan, after the January 1995 earthquake. When those plates scrape against each other and cause an earthquake, the results can be deadly and devastating. The Kobe earthquake, also referred to as the Great Hanshin earthquake, was a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that rocked the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan on the dawn of January 17, 1995. Port and waterfront facilities in Kobe, Japan, suffered extensive damage due to liquefaction during the 1995 Kobe earthquake. These environmental hazards shape human activity regionally. Otherwise, the deeper part and the shallower part of the Rokko fault sytems might generate different series of characteristic earthquakes. 1145 17th Street NW The earthquake resulted in more than 6,000 deaths and over 30,000 injuries. The worst effected area was in the central part of Kobe, a region about 5km … If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. Something Kobe was unprepared! d) What other primary effects resulted from the earthquake? The earthquake hit at 5:46 am on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 1995, in the southern part of Hyōgo Ban went to the city in February, and by the end of the summer his relief work had brought 22 paper-tube cabins to shelter some of those who had lost their homes and a “paper…. The movements of these plates can build mountains or cause volcanoes to erupt. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Also called lithospheric plate. Kōbe earthquake of 1995, (Jan. 17, 1995) large-scale earthquake in the Ōsaka-Kōbe (Hanshin) metropolitan area of western Japan that was among the strongest, deadliest, and costliest to ever strike that country. …1995, following the January 17 Kōbe earthquake that devastated the Kōbe area in west-central Japan. On the other hand the Kobe Earthquake effects were magnified by man-made issues. The surface of the Earth is made up of tectonic plates that lie beneath both the land and oceans of our planet. The number of deaths. The earthquake was caused by a sudden jolt as the Philippine any area on Earth with one or more common characteristics. Kobe Earthquake Causes Of course, the Kobe Earthquake cause is natural and out of human hands. In the aftermath of the Kōbe disaster, roads, bridges, and buildings were reinforced against another earthquake, and the national government revised its disaster response policies (its response to the 2004 quake in Niigata prefecture was much faster and more effective). The earthquake had a shallow focus, only 16 km below the surface, which had caused it to become so destructive. The earthquake's destructiveness was due to its relatively shallow depth rather than magnitude, seismologists said yesterday. Learn more about earthquakes with this curated collection of classroom resources. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. The Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake was not only powerful ( magnitude 6.9 ), but with the epicentre only 20km southwest of the city, it resulted in massive damage to property and loss of life. Updates? Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. The Kobe quake was a result of an east-west strike-slip fault where the Eurasian and Philippine plates interact. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. The Kobe Earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale, that struck at 5:46 in the morning of January 17, 1995, caused considerable and various types of damage in the Hanshin area around the cities of Kobe and Osaka in Japan. Taking into consideration the entire Kobe and Aum Tokyo scenarios together with the earlier, possibly Aum-related, fireball-explosion-earthquake events of 28 May 1993 at Banjawarn, Western Australia, one is left with a very strong impression of a serious "EM fire" underlying the visible "dark plume of smoke" that rose over Kobe. Why: To help you achieve your target level for your first Geography assessment! Kobe earthquake On January 17th, 1995, Japan was woken at 5:46am by its largest ever recorded earthquake. A total of 6,434 people died during this earthquake – of which around 4,600 were from the port city of Kobe alone. January 17th 1995. The transportation network was completely paralyzed, and the inadequacy of national disaster preparedness was also exposed. Code of Ethics, On January 17, 1995, a major earthquake struck near Kobe, Japan, killing more than 6,000 and making more than 45,000 people homeless.4. b) What was the cause of the earthquake? Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Building knocked off its foundation by the January 1995 earthquake in Kōbe, Japan. 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