The Kobe Earthquake

KOBE 1995

[pic]

Collapse of Bank Building. Photo courtesy of capital of Japan University.

magnitude AND EPICENTER

The Great Hanshin earthquake occurred at 5:46 a.m. on Tuesday, January 17, 1995. This earthquake is also called by the following names: Kobe, federation Hyogo, Hyogo-ken Nanbu.

The earthquake had a local magnitude of 7.2. The duration was almost 20 seconds. The focus of the earthquake was less than 20 km below Awaji-shima, an island in the Japan Inland Sea. This island is near the urban center of Kobe, which is a port city.

The earthquake was particularly devastating because it had a shallow focus. The earthquake had a strike-slip mechanism. The resulting surface rupture had an amount horizontal displacement of about 1.5 meters on the Nojima fault. This fault which runs along the northwest shore of Awaji Island.

DEATH TOLL

The earthquake caused 5100 deaths, mainly in Kobe.

The Hanshin earthquake was the worst earthquake in Japan since the 1923 Tokyo earthquake, which is also called the Great Kanto earthquake. The Great Kanto earthquake claimed 140,000 lives.
On the separate(a) hand, the Kobe region was thought to be fairly safe in terms of seismal activity.

STRUCTURAL DAMAGE

The cities of Kobe and Osaka are connected by an elevated highway.



The earthquake caused several portions of this highway to collapse.

Most of the deaths and injuries occurred when senior(a) wood-frame houses with heavy clay tile roofs collapsed. Note that homes and buildings are intentional to be very strong in the vertical tutelage because they must support their own static weight. On the other hand, buildings can be very susceptible to horizontal design motion.

Furthermore, many of the structures in Kobe built since 1981 had been designed to strict seismic codes. Most of these buildings withstood the earthquake. In particular, newly built ductile-frame high mature buildings were generally undamaged.

Unfortunately, many of the buildings in Kobe had been built before the...If you essential to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com



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