M6.9

1995 Kobe, Japan Earthquake

Kobe, Japan — January 17, 1995

The 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake devastated Kobe and surrounding areas, killing 6,434 people and causing $200 billion in damage. The earthquake revealed critical vulnerabilities in Japan's urban infrastructure and fundamentally transformed earthquake engineering and emergency response standards in Japan.

Earthquake Facts

Magnitude

M6.9

Date

Jan 17, 1995

Depth

16 km

Deaths

6,434

Latitude

34.583°

Longitude

135.017°

Tsunami

No

Region

Kobe, Japan

Tectonic Cause

Strike-slip rupture on the Nojima Fault in the Kinki Triangle tectonic region of southwest Japan. The fault runs along the northern coast of Awaji Island beneath Osaka Bay.

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