As last month's terrible tsunami off Sumatra and the subsequent tidal waves showed only too well, the shiftings of the earth's crust can lead to horrific natural calamities. Sitting atop one of the world's geological hot spots, Japan is of course no stranger to these phenomena. And the ever-present threat of a destructive earthquake here became perfectly clear when a massive tremor struck Kobe 10 years ago this month.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake lasted just 20 seconds, but because the focus of the tremors occurred close to the city center and at a shallow depth of 20 km below the surface, it was especially destructive. It wreaked a staggering 10 trillion yen worth of damage, grim images of which became familiar in news stories around the world. Today, as one might expect, the visitor to Kobe sees few visual reminders of the destruction of a decade ago.
Kobe presents the aspects of a bright, modern, positive city. Only the Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park has been conspicuously preserved just as the earthquake left it. The memorial consists of a stretch of harborside that was ravaged by the tremor. Once-attractive harbor lamps can be seen pitching heavily towards the bay, and a section of the former sea wall is now under water -- evidence of the frightening forces that lurk beneath the Earth's surface.