Knowra Great Hanshin earthquake Great Hanshin earthquake A magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck southern Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on January 17, 1995, devastating Kobe and nearby cities. It exposed serious weaknesses in building safety and disaster preparedness.
Nojima Fault : A fault on Awaji Island that ruptured during the 1995 earthquake. Its surface rupture recorded part of the earthquake’s movement.
Hanshin Expressway : An elevated expressway network serving Osaka, Kobe, and surrounding cities. A section overturned in Kobe, becoming a defining image of structural failure.
Kobe : A major port city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on the northern shore of Osaka Bay. Kobe suffered the earthquake’s greatest concentration of destruction and deaths.
North American Plate : A tectonic plate that includes much of North America and parts of the western Atlantic and Arctic. The earthquake occurred within the complex plate-boundary region near its eastern margin.
1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and 1995 Kobe earthquake naming : Different English and Japanese names used for the January 1995 earthquake in the Kobe region. The varying names reflect competing geographic scopes, not separate earthquakes.
Seismic wave : A wave of energy traveling through Earth after an earthquake or other disturbance. These waves carried the rupture’s energy into Kobe’s built-up areas.
Kobe Port : A major Japanese seaport on Osaka Bay in Hyōgo Prefecture. Quay walls and port facilities were heavily damaged, disrupting trade.
Awaji Island : An island in the Seto Inland Sea between Honshū and Shikoku. The earthquake’s rupture crossed the island’s northern end.
Median Tectonic Line : A major fault zone extending across southwestern Japan. The earthquake occurred within the broader active-fault system of southwest Japan.
Great Kanto earthquake : A destructive 1923 earthquake that struck the Kantō region of Japan, including Tokyo and Yokohama. It offers an earlier comparison of earthquake damage, fires, and urban vulnerability in Japan.
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