Time: January 17, 1995

Location: Osaka, Kobe, Japan

Unfortunate situation: more than 5,400 people died, about 27,000 were injured, nearly 300,000 victims were left homeless, approximately 108,000 buildings were severely damaged, and economic losses were approximately US$100 billion. Japan is a famous "land of volcanoes" and "land of earthquakes".

Although Japan's total area is only 377,000 square kilometers, about a quarter of the world's earthquakes occur here, with an average of more than 600 earthquakes per year. Japan also has 168 active volcanoes that erupt from time to time. Although Japan has accumulated a lot of valuable experience in its long-term struggle against earthquakes, human power is still limited in the face of natural disasters.

In 1995, the Great Hanshin Earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 occurred in the Kansai region of Japan. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the northern part of Awaji Island in the Seto Inland Sea. The earthquake caused so many casualties, destroyed buildings, and caused huge economic losses. It was the most serious disaster in Japan in the 72 years since the Great Kanto Earthquake. It was also the largest disaster that Japan had experienced in the 50 years after the war. At 5:46 in the morning on January 17, 1995, when people were sleeping soundly, the earth suddenly started to tremble. In an instant, the sky fell and the ground collapsed, houses collapsed, and roads on the ground were broken; gas tanks burst and gas leaked. This soon caused another fire. The raging fire continued to spread. The beautiful city of Kobe turned into ruins in an instant. Because the earthquake occurred at night, people were sleeping, and most people were crushed under the collapsed houses before they could react. More than 4,000 people were crushed to death or suffocated, accounting for more than 90% of the deaths. This strong earthquake caused extremely heavy losses to Kobe, a major city in Japan's Hanshin Economic Zone. According to Japanese official announcements, more than 5,400 people died in the earthquake-stricken areas, about 27,000 people were injured, nearly 300,000 victims were made homeless, and about 108,000 buildings were severely damaged. Public facilities such as water, electricity, gas, roads, railways, and harbors were severely damaged and cannot be used normally. The earthquake caused economic losses of approximately US$100 billion, with the total loss amounting to 1 to 1.5 of the gross national product.

According to a survey by the Japanese Government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, more than 40 cultural heritage sites and historic sites were destroyed in and around the Kansai region during the earthquake. In Kyoto Prefecture alone, 16 ancient temples were damaged by the earthquake. In Hirōryuji Temple in Ukyo District, Kyoto City, the Holy Avalokitesvara statue placed in the Rehoden Hall rolled down from its 1-meter-high display base, and its right arm was broken; in Qingliangji Temple in Ukyo District, part of the back of the Tathagata Buddha statue, a national treasure of Japan, was shaken off; There are 1,001 wooden standing statues of Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara in the Sanjusangen-do Hall in Higashiyama District, Kyoto, and 6 of them were knocked down.

After the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, Japanese engineers and architects realized the need to design earthquake-resistant buildings. They made great efforts in earthquake-proof architectural design and achieved certain results. . So why did the Great Hanshin Earthquake cause such heavy losses?

Kobe after the earthquake