Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
The 1995 Kobe Earthquake, also known as the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, as it is referred to in the region, was an earthquake that struck Japan, reaching a magnitude of 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred on January 17, 1995, at 05:46 local time in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture and lasted for 20 seconds. The earthquake's focus was located just 16 km below the surface, at the northern end of Awaji Island, 20 km from the city of Kōbe, which has a population of one and a half million people. The Nojima Fault, responsible for causing this quake, runs through this area. Approximately 6,434 people, primarily in Kobe, lost their lives as a result of the earthquake. Being the city closest to the epicenter and the rupture, it experienced the shock waves with the greatest intensity, registering a maximum of 10 degrees on the Mercalli scale; the earthquake was also strongly felt in the nearby city of Osaka, which avoided major damage; it was felt with moderate intensity...