Kobe Earthquake
Comparing Kobe and Sichuan Earthquake- “The wealth of a country influences the nature of the earthquake event experienced there”.
With reference to the Kobe earthquake (1995) and Sichuan earthquake (2008), decide whether this statement is true or not.
This statement can be true in a number of ways, because an MEDCs have generally better infrastructures made for withstanding huge earthquakes unlike LEDCs where houses (especially squatter settlements) are damaged very easily and this makes the area affected have more people that are homeless etc.
Two earthquakes that we are looking at is the Kobe and Sichuan earthquake, located in Japan and China.
Kobe Earthquake
At 5:46am on 17 January 1995 the Philippines Plate shifted beneath the Eurasian Plate along the Nojima fault line that runs beyond Kobe. This type …show more content…
Also buildings and bridges collapsed including the Great Hanshin Expressway, which is a series of expressways used to link Kobe and other surrounding areas. It is said that 150,000 buildings were ruined and 120 of the 150 quays in the port of Kobe were destroyed.
However, secondary effects were much worse as gas mains ruptured, water pipes fractured and railway lines buckled. This led to fires engulfing all around the city which destroyed wooden structures. Due to the water supply and roads being damaged, it made attempts to extinguish them impossible. Also, the electricity supply was disrupted amongst all this with around 2 million homes without electricity. 300,000 were left homeless and many refugees were moved into temporal housing.
It is said that some residents were afraid to return home because the aftershocks could be felt for several days. One million residents had to cope for a few days without water too.
The damage was around $220 billion and big companies such as Panasonic even closed down
With reference to the Kobe earthquake (1995) and Sichuan earthquake (2008), decide whether this statement is true or not.
This statement can be true in a number of ways, because an MEDCs have generally better infrastructures made for withstanding huge earthquakes unlike LEDCs where houses (especially squatter settlements) are damaged very easily and this makes the area affected have more people that are homeless etc.
Two earthquakes that we are looking at is the Kobe and Sichuan earthquake, located in Japan and China.
Kobe Earthquake
At 5:46am on 17 January 1995 the Philippines Plate shifted beneath the Eurasian Plate along the Nojima fault line that runs beyond Kobe. This type …show more content…
Also buildings and bridges collapsed including the Great Hanshin Expressway, which is a series of expressways used to link Kobe and other surrounding areas. It is said that 150,000 buildings were ruined and 120 of the 150 quays in the port of Kobe were destroyed.
However, secondary effects were much worse as gas mains ruptured, water pipes fractured and railway lines buckled. This led to fires engulfing all around the city which destroyed wooden structures. Due to the water supply and roads being damaged, it made attempts to extinguish them impossible. Also, the electricity supply was disrupted amongst all this with around 2 million homes without electricity. 300,000 were left homeless and many refugees were moved into temporal housing.
It is said that some residents were afraid to return home because the aftershocks could be felt for several days. One million residents had to cope for a few days without water too.
The damage was around $220 billion and big companies such as Panasonic even closed down