Historic Earthquakes
Kobe, Japan
1995 January 16 UTC (local time January 17)
Magnitude 6.9
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Five thousand five hundred two people confirmed killed, 36,896 injured and extensive damage (VII JMA) in the Kobe area and on Awaji-shima. Over 90 percent of the casualties occurred along the southern coast of Honshu between Kobe and Nishinomiya. At least 28 people were killed by a landslide at Nishinomiya. About 310,000 people were evacuated to temporary shelters. Over 200,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Numerous fires, gas and water main breaks and power outages occurred in the epicentral area. Felt (VII JMA) along a coastal strip extending from Suma Ward, Kobe to Nishinomiya and in the Ichinomiya area on Awaji-shima; (V JMA) at Hikone, Kyoto and Toyooka; (IV JMA) at Nara, Okayama, Osaka and Wakayama; (V) at Iwakuni. Also felt (IV JMA) at Takamatsu, Shikoku. Right-lateral surface faulting was observed for 9 kilometers with horizontal displacement of 1.2 to 1.5 meters in the northern part of Awaji-shima. Liquefaction also occurred in the epicentral area.
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Location Map
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The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
Statistics and Restoration Progress
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Stress transferred by the 1995 Mw=6.9 Kobe, Japan, shock: Effect on aftershocks and future
earthquake probabilities
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Preliminary Map of Peak Horizontal Ground Acceleration for the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of
January 17, 1995, Japan