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Facts:
The earthquake took place on 17th January 1995, at 5:46 am (local
time).It had a magnitude of 7.2 (Richter scale) and lasted for 20 seconds.
Epicenter: 34.6 N 135.0 E Awajishima Island, 20 miles south of Kobe :
population 1.5 million, Japan's sixth largest city, world's sixth largest port .
Atasiei Raul
Earthquake Engineering
Atasiei Raul
Earthquake Engineering
Atasiei Raul
even for its greater weight. The proportionally heavier tile roofs on wooden
houses also might have been a factor.
Effects on Lifelines:
Debris choking streets was just one of the coincidences that made
this earthquake so deadly. Almost all utilities, roadways, railways, the port,
and other lifelines to the city center suffered severe damage, greatly
delaying rescue efforts. Most lifelines in Kobe were constructed 20-30 years
ago, before the most modern construction standards were put into practice.
Earthquake Engineering
Fire:
Atasiei Raul
were available to pump bay water as much as one mile inland. Only a few
blocks were lost.
Liquefaction:
One of the reasons that areas of soft, water-saturated soil are
hazardous is their potential to liquefy during strong seismic shaking. The
shaking can suspend sand grains in waterlogged soil so that they loose
contact and friction with other grains. Soil in a state of liquefaction has no
strength and cannot bear any load.
In Short:
Direct and Indirect Costs:
$200 Billion in damages (4% of Japan's GDP)
$100 Billion to restore basic functions
$50 Billion in losses due to economic dislocation and business interruption
$50 Billion in losses of private property
Structural Damage (Buildings):
144,032 Buildings destroyed by ground shaking
7,456 Buildings destroyed by fire
82,091 Collapsed buildings
86,043 Severely damaged buildings
Structural Damage (Highways/ Bridges/Ports):
All Kobe ports shut down to international shipping
Damage to containing loader piers
All access to Kobe via highway and railway blocked
Miscellaneous Facts:
Largest peak accelerations 0.8g to greater than 1g
Earthquake Engineering
Biography:
http://www.seismo.unr.edu
http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/land/kobe.html
http://www.dis-inc.com/kobe.htm
http://www.vibrationdata.com/earthquakes/kobe.htm
http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/geo/research/Kobe/Somerville/qnews.html
http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/geo/research/Kobe/KobeReport/contents.html
http://www.kananet.com/kobequake/3e-links.htm