The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake: Firsthand Scenes of an Unprecedented Disaster

What was FRIDAY reporting 10 years ago, 20 years ago, or 30 years ago? In [Playback Friday], we look back at the topics that were making headlines at the time. This time, we revisit the February 3, 1995 issue, “Comprehensive Report! The Tremors of the Massive Earthquake That Devastated Kobe,” which reported on the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that occurred 30 years ago on January 17, and the February 7 special issue, “Emergency Special Edition: Kansai Earthquake (*).”

(*The name “Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake” was decided by the Cabinet on February 14, 1995.)

At 5:46 a.m. on January 17, 1995, a magnitude 7.3 inland earthquake struck a wide area of the Kinki region, centered in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture. It resulted in 6,434 deaths, 43,792 injuries, and the complete destruction of over 100,000 homes. At its peak, over 310,000 residents were displaced, making these numbers the worst since World War II at the time. The article features a harrowing on-site report by our magazine’s reporters and photographers, who arrived at the scene immediately after the earthquake (“quotes from the original article appear in brackets”).

Buildings collapsed like falling blocks.

When photographer M, who had sustained a wound on his forehead while at his home in Nishinomiya City during the earthquake, went to a nearby hospital for treatment, the area was overflowing with injured people. Many had blood streaming from their heads or were limping as they walked.

“The roof over the hospital entrance had completely collapsed and shattered into pieces. Inside, the scene was devastating, with several sheets of newspaper spread out across the floor. A fish tank in the lobby had broken, leaving the floor soaked with water. As I moved further in, injured people were everywhere. A man with his arm bandaged and hanging from his neck, someone with gauze and bandages covering a head wound, and another person lying in bed, covered in bandages, crying out in pain. More than half of the people had not yet been treated. There were far too few nurses for the number of patients.”