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On the first anniversary of the moment magnitude (MW) 6.7 1994 Northridge Earthquake, Kobe, Japan was struck by an MW6.9 earthquake. Both earthquakes struck in the pre-dawn hours, both ruptured beneath densely populated areas, and both caused horrible damage. Yet in Kobe there were many more deaths, financial losses dwarfed those in Northridge, and the amount of destroyed building stock and infrastructure was far worse in Kobe than in Northridge.

The reasons for these differences are many, but it would be incorrect to issue a blanket condemnation of current Japanese seismic engineering practice. While engineered structures did fail due to design flaws, they were predominantly older structures built before the current Japanese building code became effective; or they frequently failed due to problems revealed to be deficiencies in California design practices by the Northridge Earthquake. Japanese seismic engineering expertise has justifiably been considered among the best in the world, and a careful examination of the damage in Kobe does not change that conclusion.

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Right: Interior of a badly damaged reinforced concrete building.

More than 150 fires occurred in Kobe and surrounding areas in the hours after the earthquake. These resulted in several large fires, and fire fighters were for the most part unable to combat them because of streets being blocked by collapsed buildings and building debris, traffic congestion, and severe water system damage. Calm wind conditions prevented conflagrations. The United States and Japan have both sustained the largest peacetime urban conflagrations in this century's history_because of earthquakes. Fire following earthquake is a potential major agent of damage, and needs to be recognized as such by planners.

The affected areas were located primarily along the coastline and the numerous watercourses in the general area of Kobe and the valleys between Kobe and Osaka. Widespread liquefaction, over many square kilometers, occurred around Kobe, Ashiya, Nishinomiya, Amagasaki, Osaka, Sakai, Izumiotsu, Kishiwada, and other areas around Osaka Bay. Massive liquefaction and lateral spreading took place in areas of reclaimed land and on the many artificial islands in the city of Kobe and Nishinomiya. Ejected sand from liquefaction covered much of the islands and interfered with rescue and recovery operations.

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Approximate Word count = 24170
Approximate Pages = 97 (250 words per page double spaced)