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Kobe is a
major industrial port on the south coast of the island of Honshu , Japan , Asia. It is 25km west of another big city Osaka and 400km west of Tokyo
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what is the population of Kobe
1 million
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Kobe lies close to the
fault line between the Philippine plate , the Eurasian plate and the Pacific plate
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the 3 tectonic plates are moving
towards each other i.e. they are being forced under of over each other (compressional plate boundaries)
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when was the Kobe earthquake
January 17th of 1995 at 5:50 am
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it was the first earthquake in Kobe in
400 years
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where was the epicentre of the Kobe earthquake
Akashi Straits , between Kobe and Awaji Island
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what were the primary effects of the Kobe earthquake
- severe shaking of the ground
- buildings (over 100 000 homes) and elevated roads collapsed (the Meishin Expressway)
- the port facilities (cranes , docks , warehouses etc) were destroyed
- 10% of the city's infrastructure was destroyed (roads , rail , electricity , gas , sewage , water pipelines)
- liquefaction occurred in the Sannomiya district near the port
- many people panicked and needed treatment for the shock
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recently there was an earthquake of
- magnitude 5.7 in North California in America fortunately there weren't any deaths
- magnitude 6 in Uzbekistan (26th of May) There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
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what were the secondary effects of the Kobe earthquake
- aftershocks
- fires raged , particularly in the older central districts of the city
- landslides happened in the northern mountainous districts
- 300 000 people left homeless
- 5 400 people killed
- 3 000 people injured
- emergency services struggled to get around fallen buildings and to access water supplies . Fires were still burning a week after the earthquake
- disease became a health hazard and flu epidemic swept through the overcrowded makeshift shelters
- over half a million homes were without water and power for ten days
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what were the short term responses to the Kobe earthquake
rescue services worked around the clock
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what were the medium term responses to the Kobe earthquake
- bulldozers began to clear the streets and knock down unsafe buildings
- electricity and water supplies were restored
- highways and railways reopened
- makeshift shelters were erected
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what were the long term responses to the Kobe earthquake
- rebuilding took 4 years to complete and cost more than £100 billion
- the Japanese government were criticised for reacting to slowly and not having an emergency plan ready
- emergency plan was developed
- the most sophisticated monitoring equipment is now installed in and around Kobe . The Japanese hope to be able to give a couple of days warning of any future significant earthquake
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