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Events were held on Monday morning to mark the 27th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Hyogo Prefecture.
The magnitude 7.3 earthquake, which struck at 5:46 a.m. on Jan 17, 1995, killed 6,434 people in Hyogo Prefecture and neighboring areas.
Before dawn Monday, 3,000 bamboo lanterns were lit and arranged in the figures 1.17 and the kanji characters “忘れない” (We will never forget), at Higashi Yuenchi Park in Chuo Ward, Kobe, to pay tribute to the victims. Several hundred people gathered at the park at 5:46 a.m. to offer prayers for the victims.
The number of people at events was limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, while other events were canceled.
The quake buried residents in flattened buildings and uprooted highway overpasses and train tracks, while fires raged through collapsed timber houses and acrid smoke darkened the sky.
Heavy damage to the harbor area, where nearly all of the 300 shipping berths were destroyed, dealt a severe blow to the city's economy, sparking a population exodus over the following months and years.
About 40% of Kobe's current residents were either born after the quake or moved to the city in the years following the disaster, according to city officials.
"We will continue to deal with the issue of how to pass on experiences and lessons from the earthquake to the next generation without losing them to time as the number of citizens who did not experience the disaster is increasing," Kobe Mayor Kizo Hisamoto said, according to Kyodo News.
© Japan Today
6 Comments
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albaleo
27 years already. Hard to believe. I imagine this is a big memory for many. It certainly is for me.
Iron Lad
RIP!
snowymountainhell
It was a nightmare for many. One survivor told she had to climb down 11 flights of stairs in total darkness as stairwells were not equipped with emergency lights and/or those floors with them, the chargers had been unplugged (apparently to ‘safe’ electricity costs by the cheap building owners). Periodic screams and unanswered cries for help still haunt this now middle-aged woman. - “Rest In Peace” to those who passed away and “Condolences” offered to family & friends of those lost.
snowymountainhell
@IronLad 8:30pm, a simple “RIP”, sans the exclamation point, is more sincere, **IF **that was your intent. - It’s not ‘a cheer’ and hope you’re not yelling at the deceased:
serendipitous1
Will never forget it. Was living in a dingy 4.5-mat room in Osaka's Nishinari ward and it shook like hell.
genshijin
Only been there 2-3 years then and that is when I started living in modern apartments only 3 storeys high made of reinforced concrete. A rope on my balcony with camping equipment and food supplies. Would advise all Tokyo residents to do that now for the impending big one.