The 1995 Kobe earthquake occurred in Kobe, Japan on January 17th measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale. It caused over 6,400 deaths and left 300,000 people homeless. Critical infrastructure like roads, rail lines, and ports were severely damaged. While the Japanese government was initially criticized for its slow response, it rejected international aid and recovery was rapid - within a year, most utilities and rail lines were restored. New building codes were also passed to improve earthquake preparedness.

1. Case Study: Kobe 2012
Where did it happen?Kobe is the fifth largest city in Japan found on the southern
side of the main island, Honshu. Japan is found on the destructive boundary
between the Philippine plate and the Eurasian plate.
What happened?On the 17th January 1995 at 5:46 an earthquake struck the city of Kobe. The
earthquake measured 6.8 on the Richter scale. The focus was a depth of 16km below the surface with
an epicentre 20km away from Kobe. The tremors lasted for 20 seconds.
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Primary effects
200,000 buildings collapsed.
130km of train tracks bent and had to
be closed
1km of the Hanshin expressway
collapsed
120 out of 150 quays in the port were
destroyed
Secondary effects
It caused approximately $100 billion
in damage, 2.5% of Japan's GDP at
the time
Bullet trains derailed
6,434 people were killed
300,000 people were left homeless
Roads blocked
Shortages of clean water and food
Liquefaction
Fire destroyed 7500 houses
Immediate responses
Many people had to sleep in cars or tents
in cold winter conditions
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
until April 1995. The government and
city authorities were criticised for being
Long term responses
Water, gas and electricity was fully
working by July 1995
Railways back in service by August 1995
A year after the earthquake, 80% of the
port was working but the Hanshin
Expressway was still closed.
By January 1999, 134,000 housing units
had been constructed but some people

2. slow to rescue people and for refusing
offers of help from other countries.
1.2 million volunteers involved in relief
efforts
Approximately 3 months to get water and
gas supplies working again
After 3 weeks most telephones were
working
The Japanese rejected international offers
of aid and dealt with the earthquake
itself. All of the homeless people were
dealt with reasonably quickly and the city
recovered thanks to government money
were still having to live in temporary
accommodation.
New laws were passed to make buildings
and transport structures even more
earthquake proof.
More instruments were installed in the
area to monitor earthquake movements
New buildings were built further apart to
reduce a domino effect
Rubber blocks built under bridges to
absorb shock
How was the hazard managed?A lot of the buildings in Kobe and Japan made after the 1960s are
earthquake proof (necessary by law) with counterweights on the roofs and cross steel frames.Many of
the damaged buildings in Kobe were built before this period and were made of wood, which caught
fire. People are educated on earthquake preparation in Japan. Japan has the world’s most
comprehensive prediction programme with thousands of seismometers and monitoring stations in
Japan designed to give warning. Kobe hadn’t had an earthquake in 400years and had less prediction
equipment than other areas of Japan.