KOBE -- The Big One lasted about 30 seconds.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>But it was the only beginning of the tragedy of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which left more than 6,400 people dead, over 317,000 homeless and some 248,000 buildings destroyed in southern Hyogo Prefecture.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='200' ALIGN='right' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='/images/photos2005/nn20050117f1a.jpg' WIDTH='300' HEIGHT='215'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>A clothing boutique in the devastated Sannomiya Center Street shopping arcade in downtown Kobe was temporarily reopened outdoors in this photo –

from mid-February 1995. Most of the buildings, as well as the arcade roof, have since been rebuilt, and the city's largest arcade now bustles with shoppers. REIJI YOSHIDA PHOTOS

The worst-hit area was the prefectural capital of Kobe.