Great Hanshin earthquake
From Academic Kids
<math>[[Media:[[Image: == [[[[['''''[[Media:Example.ogg]][[Image:Kobe_port_earthquake_memorial_park.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The earthquake caused massive property damage]] The '''Great Hanshin earthquake''' (阪神・淡路大震災; ''Hanshin-Awaji-daishinsai'') measured 6.9 on the [[Richter Scale]]. It occurred on [[January 17]], [[1995]] at 5:46am 52 seconds in the southern part of [[Hyogo Prefecture]] and lasted for approximately 20 seconds. The [[epicenter]] of the [[earthquake]] was on [[Awaji Island]], near the cosmopolitan city of [[Kobe]] with a population of 1.5 million. 6,433 people, mainly in Kobe, lost their lives. Additionally, it caused approximately ten trillion yen in damage. It was the worst earthquake in [[Japan]] since the [[Great Kanto earthquake]] in [[1923]], which claimed 140,000 lives.
This earthquake caused over 100 billion [[United States dollar|USD]] in damage, and is listed in the [[Guinness Book of Records]] as the "costliest natural disaster to befall any one country". The economic damage was the chief cause for the collapse of [[Barings Bank]] due to the actions of [[Nick Leeson]].
The earthquake is also known under the following names: Kobe, South Hyogo, Hyogo-ken Nanbu, and Great Hanshin-Awaji.
== External links ==
- [http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=52457 Guinness World Records page on Costliest Natural Disaster]
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[[Category:1995]] [[Category:Earthquakes]] [[Category:Japanese history]]
[[fr:Tremblement de terre de Kobé]] [[ja:阪神・淡路大震災]] [[pl:Trzęsienie ziemi w Kobe, 1995]] [[sv:Jordbävningen i Kobe 1995]] [[zh:%E9%98%AA%E7%A5%9E%E5%A4%A7%E5%9C%B0%E9%9C%87]]''''']]]]] ==]]]]<math>
