KOBE!

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KOBE!
The Quake.
by Abi Battersby, 9W
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Contents
1.Letter to the government of Japan. 2.What kind
of place is Kobe? 3.Introduction 4.Why do
earthquakes occur? 5.Why do earthquakes
occur? 6.How do we measure earthquakes? 7.

8.What were the possible effects of the Kobe
earthquake? 9.What were the actual effects of the
Kobe earthquake? 10.

11.How did people respond? 12.
13.Why were some places
more affected than others? 14.

15How could the impacts be reduced? 16.

17.
18 Conclusion 19.Bibliography
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To the Government of Japan, Here is my report
on the Kobe earthquake(Tuesday 17th January
1995). It outlines the reasons for the
Earthquake. The overall scale of the damage
caused, and how your country could be more
prepared for Earthquakes in the future to prevent
such a tragedy reoccurring.I hope you find it
useful! Yours Sincerely, Abi Battersby.
Abi.Battersby.xXx
(Geographical reporter)
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What kind of place is Kobe??
Kobe is the 6th most important city in Japan.
It is a small, historical and cultural city, that
is described by many as beautiful. It varies
tremendously, as some areas are very poor (such
as Nagata Ward) and there are some very wealthy
areas like Sannomiya which are more metropolitan
but have less 50-70 storey skyscrapers! -Like the
ones seen in Japans capital Tokyo.
Kobe is also a city of great industrial
importance. It is Japans second most important
industrial and business centre, and produces over
20 of Japans factory output. There are about
9,000 manufacturing industries with 120,000
workers!
Kobe is also one of Japans major ports. Its
large modern port is the 6th busiest container
port in the world and accounts for 12 of Japans
exports, Kobe is also an important route centre.
It has a motorway (the Hanshin Expressway) and
intercity ('bullet train') railway lines passing
through it.
So how were all of these things affected when
the quake hit Kobe?
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Destruction caused in Kobe Quake!! At 546 a.m.
on Tuesday 17th January, one of the most
destructive earthquakes ever to hit Japan shook
the city of Kobe. The effects were catastrophic
buildings collapsed and much of the city burst
into flames, leaving thousands dead and many
seriously injured. Others had to survive in
crowded schools and public buildings, or on the
streets -in the raw winter- with few supplies to
keep them going.
This report looks into the damage of the Kobe
earthquake and how it affected so many peoples
lives, and changed the way the world deals with
earthquakes...
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WHY DO EARTHQUAKES OCCUR?? The earths
crust is made up of several large sections of
rock called tectonic plates. These sections float
around slowly, moving at an average rate of a few
inches a year. The line where two plates meet is
called a fault line or plate boundary.
There are 4 main types of plate boundary
Destructive plate boundary Where an oceanic
plate and a continental plate are moving towards
each other. The oceanic plate is forced under (or
subducts) the Continental plate. Destructive
plate boundaries can cause both Earthquakes and
volcanoes. Kobe sits near the Destructive plate
boundary, of the Philippine Sea Plate and the
Eurasian Plate. The Philippine Sea plate moves
below the Eurasian plate at a rate of about 10cm
a year. The movements of this plate boundary is
what caused the Kobe Earthquake.
Constructive plate boundary Where two plates are
moving away from each other. This can cause magma
from blow the earths surface to move upwards and
then cool. Constructive plate boundaries can
cause underwater mountain ranges.
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Conservative plate boundary When two plates
slide past each other. Earthquakes occur at
conservative plate boundaries, but volcanoes
cannot, the most severe earthquakes happen at
conservative and destructive plate boundaries..
A famous example of a conservative plate boundary
is the San Adreas fault in California.
Collision plate boundary Where two continental
plates are moving towards each other.
Sometimes, as the plates move, they collide
slightly and grind together, causing shock waves
called seismic waves to spread outwards from that
point. This movement is called an earthquake.
Because of how they are formed, earthquakes can
only happen along a plate boundary. (Volcanoes
and Tsunamis can also occur because of movements
along plate boundaries.) The place along a plate
boundary, where an earthquake begins is called
the Epicentre. The deeper the epicentre is, the
further the shock waves travel, and the closer to
the Epicentre the place is, the more destruction
is caused.
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How do we measure Earthquakes??
There are two main ways of measuring the shock
waves caused by an earthquake...
The most commonly used method is the Richter
scale. This uses results from a Seismograph, a
machine that produces a continual line on a
graph. A thin needle, constantly records all
natural tremors in the earth, however it also
records every movement during an earthquake. When
an earthquake is happening, the line drawn by the
needle quickly moves up down vertically (see
picture).
The Seismograph is a very useful and important
scientific instrument, because not only can it
measure the strength of shock waves, and
aftershocks. It can also pick up signs of when
an Earthquake may be approaching.
The Richter scale works by measuring the
intensity of earthquakes using a scale of 0-9. It
is a logarithmic scale, meaning that each level
is ten times greater that the one below it.
Levels 0-3 can usually only be detected on a
seismograph. At level 9 the ground shakes
violently, and trees, buildings, bridges are
completely destroyed. The Kobe Quake measured 7.2
on the Richter scale.
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Richter Earthquake Magnitudes Effects Less than
3.5 Generally not felt, but recorded. 3.5 -5.4
Often felt, but rarely causes damage. Under 6.0
At most slight damage to well-designed buildings.
Can cause major damage to poorly constructed
buildings over small regions. 6.1-6.9 Can be
destructive in areas up to about 100 kilometres
across where people live. 7.0-7.9 Major
earthquake. Can cause serious damage over larger
areas. 8 or greater Great earthquake. Can cause
serious damage in areas several hundred
kilometres across.
The other main way of measuring
Earthquakes is the Mecalli scale. It works in a
similar way to the Richter scale, but does not
require a seismograph or an expert! It is a
measure of things that happen, such as windows
breaking, buildings damaged etc.
Eyewitnesses can measure it, which makes it
easier in some ways because it means people in
the quake have an immediate idea of how strong
the quake is. However it is not as scientific or
accurate as the Richter scale.
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What were the possible effects of the Kobe
Earthquake??
The effects of the Kobe earthquake, although
tragic, could have been even worse. The worst
effects would have happened if Japan wasnt used
to earthquakes. The whole city could have been
left completely flat and ALL buildings and roads
destroyed, if nothing was earthquake proof.
Also, if Japan was not used to earthquakes, the
government would have had no disaster plan.This
would have meant it would have taken even longer
to get aid to people after the quake, than it did
on January 17th.
This is exactly what happened on the December
26th quake in Bam, Iran. "Our government only
gives us slogans," said one frustrated Iranian to
a local reporter. "But they dont give us proper
building codes. The fact that the Iranian
government had no contingency plan cost Iran
30,000 casualties to Iranian people.
However, the greatest threat (as Kobe is on the
coast) was that the Kobe earthquake could have
caused a tsunami (a tidal wave that pushes a
surge of water onto the land). This has happened
many times before, including in the great Kanto
earthquake (also in Japan) where over 100,000
people died.
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What were the actual effects of the Kobe
Earthquake??
The Kobe earthquake lasted about 15seconds, but
the effects of those few seconds lost and changed
thousands of peoples livesThe damage caused is
almost indescribable, because it occurred in so
many different ways but the main points of
destruction were
Emotional damage loss of life
Physical damage was a huge part of the effects of
the Kobe earthquake but the most damage was
caused by the loss of life in the quake. Over
300,00 people lost their homes and over 5,000
people died in 20 seconds of quake in Kobe. In
those few seconds, thousands more people lost
their parents, grandparents, children, and
friends. Misa Hamaguchi (an eyewitness of the
quake) shared his story of the huge emotional
impact the quake had on his life the saddest
thing for me was I lost my favourite friend.
Buildings can be rebuilt again. Lifeno more.
Dignity of life. I wanted to talk to play and
laugh with my friend. The earthquake was really
awful and hateful thing for us.
Financial and economic impact on Japan.
Japan is a wealthy country, however damage worth
an estimated 100 billion was caused to roads,
houses, factories and infrastructure due to the
quake and fires caused by the quake. Thats
about 10,000 for each person living in Kobe!
There is no doubt that it will take Kobe a very
long time (years) to properly recover from this
financial, emotional, and physical damage that
was almost all caused in just 20 seconds
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Physical damage
Despite all the other areas of damage the
physical and structural destruction that occurred
in Kobe was phenomenal Japan is used to
earthquakes, therefore, some buildings
particularly in the richer areas of Kobe were
built to withstand them. But many older or
traditional buildings especially ones in Kobes
poorer areas, were not. These were demolished
completely within seconds of the quake beginning,
because they were just not built to withstand
such force. Also the effects of the quake
were almost amplified, on Kobes reformed land.
Because Kobe has grown over 60 squared km over
the last few years, it has built land on an
artificial island which has the Kobe port built
on it. Because this land is near the sea, and is
not as compact as natural land, a process called
liquefaction happened to the land, and floods
occurred causing even more damage!
However, even most of the specially designed
quake proof buildings did not escape damage, as
burst gas mains caused raging fires to spread
through the city, destroying most remaining
buildings and circulating a thick asphyxiating
smoke round the city. Other physical damage
included extensive damage to roads, and burst
sewers. Also 285,000 telephone lines were down,
1,000,000 households were without electricity,
857,000 households were without gas and
1,200,000 households in 15 cities in Hoyogo were
without a water supply. Which wasnt fully
recovered until the end of February.
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How did people respond??
When the earthquake struck, most people were
completely shocked. However it was the citizens
of Kobe themselves, who took matters into their
own hands in the hours after the quake. Reports
say People were rescuing others, and directing
traffic. The locals were doing more than the
officials!
This one report suggests the emergency
response in Kobe was not good, so is this true?
At the time it did seem that the emergency
services were not very active, however,
representatives from the services and the
government have said that the emergency teams did
not have the right equipment to deal with the
situation. When fires broke out around the
city (due to burst gas mains) the rescue services
were unprepared and they could not deal them like
normal fires because all the water hydrants on
the streets had been destroyed in the quake.
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Apprentices in the fire services were expected to
do the job of full time fire fighters, and the
services were cut by more than 2/3 because so few
workers had been able to get to work or had not
survived the quake. However the main simple
reason the rescue response in Kobe was so slow is
because the earthquake was bigger than everyone
had expected, and the rescue services (and the
government) were just not prepared for such an
emergency.
However, some help did get through to the
people of Kobe. Aid from around the world arrived
in Kobe, missionaries and volunteers came to help
the residents of Kobe in there time of need.
However it took a long time for supplies to reach
everyone, and many people were mal nutritional,
and make shift emergency centres became crowded
and unhygienic, as there was so little water.
However, reports say, there was courtesy and
politeness in the queues for water and emergency
phone lines despite them being in such short
supply.
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Why were some places more affected than others??
There is no doubt about the fact that some
parts of Kobe were more affected in the quake
than others. But why is this?
Epicentre There are many reasons why some places
in Kobe were more affected than others, but one
main one is that some places were simply nearer
the Epicentre of the quake on (which was on
Awajishima Island, 20 miles south of Kobe). This
would have meant that the shockwaves would have
been stronger near them.
Wealth in different areas of the city Kobe has
some very wealthy parts and some poorer parts. In
the wealthier parts of Kobe some buildings were
built to withstand earthquakes, however in the
poorer areas, the buildings were a lot older and
more venerable to quakes.
The quake was not expected By Japanese
standards, Kobe isnt a high risk earthquake area
(this is one of the reasons the government
werent prepared for the quake). So even in the
richer areas, there were not very many specially
designed buildings, and even those buildings that
had been specifically built would not have had a
very high earthquake limit.
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The quake was not expected By Japanese
standards, Kobe isnt a high risk earthquake area
(this is one of the reasons the government
werent prepared for the quake). So even in the
richer areas, there were not very many specially
designed buildings, and even those buildings that
had been specifically built would not have had a
very high earthquake limit.
Fires Although there are many reasons some
places in Kobe were more affected than others in
the quake, eventually even if they were designed
to be 100 earthquake proof and far away from the
the epicentre, the fires that spread through the
city after the quake destroyed almost every thing
that had survived the initial quake. And so some
parts were more affected in the quake, but other
remaining buildings were burned down anyway In
the raging fires that almost caused as much
devastation and destruction as the actual quake.
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How could the impacts be reduced??
Action plan One conclusion I can draw from this
report is that the Kobe earthquake, caught the
Japanese government and the people of Kobe
completely off guard. No one was expecting it,
and the government had no Action plan, for such
an emergency. Therefore, having a clear plan of
action for everyone to follow in and after
earthquakes would drastically reduce the impacts
of future quakes. Kobe was not a high risk
earthquake area by Japanese standards. But the
Japanese government need to understand that major
earthquakes can happen anywhere in there country
and they need to be prepared!
Earthquake drills Obviously, the Japanese have
encountered earthquakes before, and so most
people have an idea of what do in the event of
one. But some of the casualties caused in the
quake happened because people panicked, and could
have been prevented if everyone knew what to do
when an earthquake strikes. So people know what
to exactly what to do in future quakes the people
of Kobe could practice earthquake drills.
Children in San Francisco (a common earthquake
target) practise earthquake drills often at
school, just like we have fire drills. Education
is the key to communities surviving earthquakes
because everyone needs to be able to know what to
do.
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And all around the world codes like this are
practised so that every member of the community
knows what to do wherever they are when an
earthquake strikes.

• If you are, Indoors
• Stay inside
• DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON! Move only a few steps
  to a nearby safe place. Take cover under and hold
  onto a piece of heavy furniture or stand against
  an inside wall. Stay indoors until the shaking
  stops and you're sure it's safe to exit. Stay
  away from windows and doors.
• Never take an elevator!
• If you are in bed, hold on, stay there, protect
  your head with a pillow.  
• If you are Outdoors
• Find a clear spot away from buildings, trees, and
  power lines.
• Drop to the ground until the shaking stops.
• If you are In A Car
• Slow down and drive to a clear place (as
  described above).
• Turn on emergency flashers on and slow to a stop.
  Do not stop on overpasses, underpasses, or
  bridges. Be careful of overhead hazards such as
  power lines or falling building debris.
• Turn off the ignition and set the parking brake.
• Stay inside the car until the shaking stops 

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Building designs Because only some of the
buildings in Kobe were earthquake proofmost
fell collapsed during the quake, or were badly
damaged because they were either not at all quake
proof or because they didnt have a very high
limit and were only designed to withstand small
tremors. However, the suspension bridge in
Kobe (which is the longest suspension bridge in
the world!) had been designed to withstand
earthquakes and although some support posts moved
an extra 3m in some areas the bridge completely
survived the quake. This proves that buildings
and bridges can be built to withstand
earthquakes. If the Japanese government make
sure that ALL buildings and bridges in Kobe are
earthquake proof when they are rebuilt, this
should ensure a significantly reduced amount of
building destruction in future quakes. An
example of a quake proof building would

• Steel framed for strength.

• have pounding between adjacent buildings to
  absorb shock.

• have deep foundations with layers of wire mesh
  to protect from liquefaction.

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Conclusion
The conclusion I can draw from this my
research into the Kobe earthquake, is that it was
a terrible tragedy. No one expected such damage
to occur, and the effects were devastating. But
the people of Kobe, and the Japanese government
have many lessons they can learn from this
disaster. Such as educating their people about
earthquakes, designing ALL buildings to be
earthquake proof, and having action plans for
emergencies will help against preventing such
disastrous effects when the next earthquake
strikes Kobe Meanwhile Kobe rebuilds itself,
knowing that the 7th January 1995 was not the
first time an earthquake struck Kobe, and will
certainly not be the last. 140000 people died in
the last major quake in 1923, but eventually Kobe
recovered. And this time, lets hope it can
rebuild itself to be stronger city, that can
teach cities on fault lines around the world that
an earthquake is not the end of the world,
Earthquakes are a force of nature, and they
happen, But as long as you learn from your
mistakes. Next time you will be prepared!
am very sorry that my town was destroyed and my
friends family died. He is now alone. I will help
him. We should help each other. This disaster
must be a good learning for you. Please prepare
for earthquakes. Tom Mizuta (17 years old.)
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Bibliographyfor this project I have used.

• Natural disasters Tim wood
• Earthworks
• Google.com
• Google images.com
• www.cotf.edu/.../msese/earthsysflr/plates2.html
• http//www.bennett.karoo.net/topics/platetec.html
• http//www.channel4.com/learning/programmenotes/ge
  og/nathazards01.htm
• http//www.vibrationdata.com/earthquakes/kobe.htm
• http//www.thetech.org/exhibits_events/online/quak
  es/plates/tectonics.html
• http//www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/arti
  cles/eav010604a.shtml
• http//www.georesources.co.uk/kobehigh.htm
• http//www.japan-guide.com/e/e2116.html
• http//www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml/ne
  ws/1995/01/18/kobeearthquake.xml