1995 Hanshin, Japan Earthquake
Hanshin Region, Kobe, Japan — January 17, 1995
The Great Hanshin earthquake devastated Kobe at 5:46 AM and remains one of the most expensive natural disasters in Japanese history. The collapse of elevated expressways and railways, combined with fires ignited by ruptured gas lines, caused unprecedented urban destruction. It transformed Japan's earthquake engineering standards.
Earthquake Facts
Magnitude
M6.9
Date
Jan 17, 1995
Depth
16 km
Deaths
6,434
Latitude
34.583°
Longitude
135.017°
Tsunami
No
Region
Hanshin, Japan
Tectonic Cause
Strike-slip rupture on the buried Nojima Fault system in the Kinki Triangle, a seismically complex region where the Philippine Sea, Pacific, and Eurasian plates interact beneath western Japan.
Sources & Further Reading
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