THE KOBE EARTHQUAKE
Nader Al-Essa
Japanese Civilization
December 2001
Japan is a country that distinguishes itself by being one of the most geologically unstable places in the world. It has 40 active volcanoes and records 1500 tremors annually, most of which are minor (Arnold 1). The last great earthquake to strike Japan was the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923, which killed 142,800 people in Tokyo alone (Newton 1). The size and scale of this earthquake shifted most of Japan’s modern seismic attention to the north of Japan. Little focus of attention for earthquakes was paid to south-central Japan, since its had been without a major quake in over 900 years (Emerson 1). But, on Tuesday, January 17th 1995, at 5:46 a.m. an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale struck the city of Kobe (Kobe Earthquake 1). At the time Kobe had a population of 1.5 million people and was supposedly one of the most quake-safe cites in Japan (Biema 2). In spite of the fact that the ground shook for only 20 seconds, Kobe suffered great amounts of geological, structural, social and economical damage. The people of Kobe although in shock, surprisingly remained stoic. But at the same time they also felt they had been betrayed by a country that had prided itself on being seismically prepared for so long, when it fact it was not.
Three significant plates meet
near the coast of Japan but only two brought about the Great Hanshin earthquake.
The more compact Philippines Plate was disappearing beneath the lighter
Eurasian plate and so pressure had been building up. Suddenly, the result
of years of pressure was a release of force that shifted the Nojima fault,
south of the Osaka Bay. This activity all occurred only 16 miles below
the earth’s surface. (Kobe Earthquake 1) The fault cut through the north
side of Awaji Island, the epicenter of the earthquake, and crossed the
bay directly below the city of Kobe. Kobe is 20km from Awaji Island and
so seismic waves where given the opportunity to increase in speed, hence
causing greater destruction (Louie 2). A decade of repair for the city
of Kobe would be needed to amend the damages caused by the direct hit of
the Great Hanshin quake.
The immediate effects of any earthquake
are known as the primary effects (Kobe Earthquake 2). In Kobe the primary
effect of the Hanshin quake includes the destruction of lifelines, buildings
and utilities/services.
A at 5:46 a.m. the earth began to shake, sand grains
within Kobe’s abundant water-saturated soil began to loose contact and
friction with other grains, causing liquefaction. Soil began to flow apart
and the ground reacted by moving 7 inches horizontally and 4 inches vertically.
(2. Kobe Earthquake 3) Liquefaction was the beginning of the end for the
city of Kobe. Japanese buildings that where built prior to enforcement
of the 1981 seismic building code, could not withstand the force of the
quake and the liquefaction of the ground. The result was 102,000 buildings
collapsing (Bennet 2).
The cities lifelines also suffered a great deal. All three railway links to outside cities where destroyed. Kobe’s main elevated motorway had astonishingly collapsed for over a kilometer and those using it soared of into mid-air (Bennet 2). Yoshio Fukamoto, a bus driver who had managed to escape his bus while the front half was 6 feet suspended in space, described the situation as, “Like watching a scene from a movie.” (Louie 2) Many roads also where elevated from the ground.
Most of the utilities and services
within the city suddenly came to a halt. Water, gas and electricity ran
through underground cables/pipes and so as the ground began to move rigid
cables and pipes began to break. Kobe’s ever-important port also lost 120
out 150 of its quays. Within a span of 20 seconds $150 billions dollars
of basic infrastructure was demolished. (Louie 2)
The secondary effects of the Hanshin
quake were an outbreak of fires within the city and a plethora of socio-economic
problems. Broken gas pipes and sparking electrical cables began to ignite
fires across the city. At one point 300 fires were burning in different
places (2). Since most lifelines came to a halt, the Kobe fire department
had no way of reaching the sudden outbreaks. The fires burnt down 7500
homes (Louie 2).
The earthquake and fires killed 5,250
people and left over 400,000 people homeless. Those that did survive the
quake were freezing because there was no gas for heat. Also they were thirsty
and starving due to the lack of food/water being circulated. (2) The people
of Kobe had lost more in 20 seconds than most people lose in a lifetime.
Yet, they surprisingly remained quiet and stoic. The majority of people
did not yell or become hysterical, but rather utter words like, “Shoganai”
meaning it cannot be helped (Louie 2). An elderly man sitting in front
of his shattered house with a flask in his hand said, “Everything is gone,
what can I do except sip sake and smile? (Biema 3)”
Although Japan is a country that shuns
direct attacks, some people had had enough of stoicism. One survivor stated,
“Many had to watch our homes burn down without a fireman in sight. Then
we have to go without food and water because the authorities are so disorganized
(Biema 3).” The people of Kobe where miserable and somewhat angry, but
not because their homes were demolished, but because their country which
had prided itself on being seismically prepared was in fact as unprepared
as anywhere else in the world. The Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama
confessed, “the lack of preparedness and bureaucratic bungling significantly
delayed recovery efforts (Nevola 1).”
The people of Kobe had a right to
be infuriated; they had suffered one of the worst quakes in history yet
there was no immediate response by authorities. In fact it took a whole
four hours before the governor asked for help from the Japanese defense
forces. And the JDF in turn took five hours to respond and two days to
arrive in Kobe. Teams of doctors where also delayed at the airport because
they did not have the necessary licenses to practice. Furthermore, it took
two days to get permission for 50,000 blankets to be shipped in form the
USA. And finally although 60 nations offered assistance to Japan, only
20 where accepted. (Nevola 1) Authorities had always given the impression
that Kobe was designed to withstand severe earthquakes and that it was
prepared for the worst emergency, but when the quake hit, impressions were
destroyed with everything else.
The city of Kobe is one of the
most important centers of industry in Japan. Its port is the second largest
in the country and the sixth largest in the world. The port of Kobe handles
12% of worldwide Japanese exports and 31% of imports to the United States.
(1) As mentioned above 120 out of 150 of the port’s quays where destroyed.
This affected manufactured goods from Mitsubishi, Mazda and Toyota whom
had to find different shipping locations. American companies Proctor &
Gamble, Caterpillar and many others also suffered greatly in the disaster.
(Nivola 1) Kobe port was the hub port for the Asia and Pacific region and
played an essential role in the field of international distribution (The
Symposium…1). The deterioration in port functions interrupted distribution
channels in Asia and the Pacific and forced suppliers and distributors
to find different hubs to depend on. Almost 2%of GDP was lost in the Great
Hanshin earthquake, helping Japan further stride into recession (Nivola
1).
Although authorities did not immediately
arrive on the scene, they did eventually arrive. By January 24th, 589 evacuation
shelters were set up to house 236,899 people (Phase1…1). Once the restruction
of Kobe began, it moved at a rapid pace. By February 24th all schools reopened,
this played vital role in the psychological recovery of the city’s youth.
In July 1995 water, electricity, gas and telephone services where restored.
(Kobe Earthquake 4) By August of that same year the railway was fully functional.
1995 was called the “first year of volunteerism,” because 1.13 million
volunteers from all over Japan arrived to help rebuild Kobe (Phase1…1).
Countless amounts of laws were passed to make buildings and structures
more earthquake resistant. Endless donations and funds flowed in to help
victims. By January 1999, 134000 houses had been constructed, yet many
continue to live in temporary housing. (Kobe Earthquake 4) For those who
live in temporary housing, the move to permanent housing will take time
and patience on their part. Realizing this the Japanese government established
the Kobe Housing Transition Promotion Center. Furthermore, it established
the Post-Quake Citizen Support Services to help heal the emotional scars
left by the Great Hanshin Earthquake. (Phase3…1)
On Tuesday, January 17th 1995, at 5:46 a.m. an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale struck the city of Kobe (Kobe Earthquake 1). At the time Kobe had a population of 1.5 million people and was supposedly one of the most quake-safe cites in Japan (Biema 2). In spite of the fact that the ground shook for only 20 seconds, Kobe suffered great amounts of geological, structural, social and economical damage. The people of Kobe although in shock, surprisingly remained stoic. At the same time they also felt they had been betrayed by a country that had prided itself on being seismically prepared for so long, when it fact it wasn’t. The authorities of Kobe have realized that the illusion of preparedness was the key to their failure. Not only have all new buildings become more earthquake resistant but authorities have also established a restoration fund, which through investment, will yield 350 billion yen over 10 years, just in case any other devastating events occur (Phase1…1). Additionally Authorities are thankful for all the international support during the time of crisis and in return are reusing all temporary housing units to help support international earthquake victims (Phase3…3). The Great Honshu quake brought to light the fact that every city in Japan is just as earthquake prone as the other, and therefore safety measures should not just be concentrated in specific areas of the country.
