Why did so many people die in the Kobe earthquake in 1995?
… earthquake was only a couple of kilometres away from Kobe’s port, 90% of which were destroyed. Most people were asleep and weren’t expecting anything when the earthquake happened. Many died in their sleep; others woke as they felt the weight of their house on them. Most of the houses that were destroyed in the quake were built before the 1980’s, with poor or old people living in them. Mostly the old houses were destroyed, because since 1981 Japanese houses have been built to be earthquake proof. In January 1995 an expressway connecting Kobe with Osaka collapsed during the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Japan is a rich and technologically very advanced country, and some of the late designed buildings in central Kobe have structures, which are computer controlled and adjust to earth movements. Therefore, none of the modern buildings in the city centre were caused severe damage. Problems causing death When the earthquake happened, many buildings …