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1995 Kobe Earthquake Answers


home   >>  world   >>  japan   >>  japanese nature   >>  japanese earthquakes   >>  1995 kobe earthquake

1.   How many modern concrete buildings collapsed? Was it mostly older buildings that fell?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on October 1, 2008 1995 kobe earthquake manshon collapse store collapse
rashomon rashomon's answer (#1 of 1)        1 0

Yes, many concrete buildings fell especially those constructed before changes to building codes in 1981.

The Kobe earthquake hurt the image of Japanese construction as being earthquake resistant. Even large public works such as the Hanshin Expressway were totally destroyed.

Since Kobe there have been improvements to the building codes but also some scandals that builders have cut corners and built unsafe buildings.

Hanshin Expressway Collapse kobe earthquake model

posted by rashomon on October 26, 2009     0 comments
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2.   How much financial damage did the Kobe earthquake cause?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008
canada8 canada8's answer (#1 of 2)        1 0

About 200 billion dollars US. It was the most expensive earthquake in history. Japan has a lot of infrastructure that was destroyed in the quake.



posted by canada8 on October 1, 2008     0 comments
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3.   How many people died in the Great Hanshin Earthquake?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008
canada8 canada8's answer (#1 of 2)        1 0

About 6,500 people died. It was the worst earthquake in Japan since 1923.



posted by canada8 on October 1, 2008     0 comments
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4.   Is it true that most fatalities were from fire and not the earthquake itself?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008 5.   How many buildings fell down?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008
canada8 canada8's answer (#1 of 1)        2 0

About 200,000 buildings were damaged beyond repair. Many of these were wooden houses built with heavy roofs to resist typhoons.



posted by canada8 on October 1, 2008     0 comments
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6.   What was the fatality rate? What percentage of the population was killed?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008
canada8 canada8's answer (#1 of 1)        1 0

Depending on the area of the city the fatality rate was as high as 0.7%



posted by canada8 on October 1, 2008     0 comments
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7.   How much did the ground move up or down during the quake?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008
canada8 canada8's answer (#1 of 1)        1 0

The earth moved about 18cm sideways and 12 cm up.



posted by canada8 on October 1, 2008     0 comments
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8.   How long did the kobe earthquake last?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008
canada8 canada8's answer (#1 of 1)        1 0

It was a very short earthquake of only 20 seconds.

Often very large earthquakes last much longer.



posted by canada8 on October 1, 2008     0 comments
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9.   Was the Great Hanshin Earthquake felt in Kyoto? How strong was it in Kyoto?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008 10.   What does the Japanese word "shindo" mean?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008
shimo shimo's answer (#1 of 1)        2 0

Shindo is the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale. Shindo (震度) literally means "degree of shaking".

Magnitude is the size of the earthquake. Shindo is how much shaking that earthquake caused.

For example, Magnitude does not take into account how deep under the earth the earthquake occured. An earthquake deep under the earth is not felt as much as one close to the surface.

Shindo measures the actually shaking felt at ground level and is therefore a much more practical meassure. It is similar to magnitude in that each additional shindo is about 10x stronger then the last. Here is my rough translation:

shindo 2 and 3 - noticable earthquake

shindo 4 - small things may fall down

shindo 5 - some damage to building will occur people could die

shindo 6 - major earthquake with significant damage and some loss of life

shindo 7 - catastrophic earthquake that will destroy a city and kill a large percentage of residents.

shindo 8 - I don't believe this has ever occured.



posted by shimo on October 26, 2008     0 comments
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11.   Where was the epicenter of the Great Hanshin Earthquake?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008 12.   What magnatude was the Great Hanshin Earthquake?    report spam  |  add answer
         posted by coco8 coco8 on September 30, 2008
canada8 canada8's answer (#1 of 1)        1 0

It was magnitude 7.3. By the Japanese scale it was 7 (shindo).

It was the first time a shindo 7 even was verified in Japan.



posted by canada8 on October 1, 2008     0 comments
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