Japan marks 30 years since Kobe quake that killed over 6,400

    KOBE, Jan. 17 Kyodo - The western Japan city of Kobe and nearby areas on Friday marked the 30th anniversary of the magnitude 7.3 earthquake that killed 6,434 people, with the government stepping up efforts to enhance disaster resilience.

    Residents and victims' families observed a moment of silence at 5:46 a.m., the exact time the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck Kobe and surrounding areas in Hyogo Prefecture on Jan. 17, 1995. The quake also injured about 43,000 people and damaged or destroyed roughly 640,000 homes.

    As many as 310,000 people sought refuge in emergency shelters after the quake, and criticism of the government's initially slow response has spurred efforts to strengthen crisis management over the years.

    People were shocked by TV images of the 1995 devastation, including a collapsed highway. Post-quake fires also destroyed 7,574 buildings.

    Drawing on lessons from the quake, the government has implemented measures to improve disaster response, including establishing a crisis management center at the prime minister's office.

    The quake prompted the creation of a law providing post-disaster assistance to affected residents and spurred the widespread adoption of earthquake insurance.

    In recent years, Japan has experienced a series of devastating earthquakes, including the January 2024 temblor that struck the Noto Peninsula. The country has long feared a megaquake along the Nankai Trough -- an ocean-floor trench along its Pacific coast where the Eurasian and Philippine Sea tectonic plates meet -- occurring within the next 30 years.

    Attention is now on plans to establish a new disaster management agency in quake-prone Japan to enhance and expedite responses to earthquakes, typhoons and other natural disasters. The agency is expected to be launched by fiscal 2026.

    Passing on the lessons learned from the quake to younger generations has become increasingly challenging over the years.

    A Kyodo News survey of 52 organizations in Hyogo that host memorial events for the quake highlighted the challenge. About 80 percent said it would be difficult to continue holding such events, primarily due to a decline in the number of bereaved families and those who experienced the disaster firsthand.

==Kyodo