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On the first anniversary of the moment magnitude (MW) 6.7 1994 Northridge Earthquake, Kobe, Japan was struck by an MW6.9 earthquake. Both earthquakes struck in the pre-dawn hours, both ruptured beneath densely populated areas, and both caused horrible damage. Yet in Kobe there were many more deaths, financial losses dwarfed those in Northridge, and the amount of destroyed building stock and infrastructure was far worse in Kobe than in Northridge.

The reasons for these differences are many, but it would be incorrect to issue a blanket condemnation of current Japanese seismic engineering practice. While engineered structures did fail due to design flaws, they were predominantly older structures built before the current Japanese building code became effective; or they frequently failed due to problems revealed to be deficiencies in California design practices by the Northridge Earthquake. Japanese seismic engineering expertise has justifiably been considered among the best in the world, and a careful examination of the damage in Kobe does not change that conclusion.

Some topics in this essay:
Port Kobe, Seaside Town, Building Code, Rokko Island, Nishinomiya Port, Left Mid-story, Kobe Earthquake, Chuo Ward, Kobe Buildings, Sannomiya Station, reinforced concrete, kobe earthquake, january 17, severely damaged, lateral spreading, 17 1995 kobe, shear wall, shear walls, central kobe, 17 1995, 1995 kobe earthquake, 1995 kobe, january 17 1995, report april 1995, ashiyama seaside town,