KOBE (Kyodo) Thousands of survivors and relatives of the 6,434 people who died in the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995 paid tribute to the victims Saturday at memorial events held to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the biggest natural disaster in postwar Japan.

In the city and surrounding areas in Hyogo Prefecture, people vowed to create "a society that is resistant to disasters" while acknowledging that pressing problems remain, such as how to the continuing solitary deaths of elderly people still living in public housing set up in the wake of the disaster.

At 5:46 a.m., the time the magnitude 7.3 quake struck at Awaji Island in the Seto Inland Sea to rock western Japan 14 years ago, about 5,500 people offered a silent prayer at Kobe's Higashi Yuenchi Park in Chuo Ward, where about 7,000 memorial lanterns were lit.

In an event hosted by the city, Kobe Mayor Tatsuo Yada said it is important to pass on the memories of the survivors.

"It's increasingly important . . . so that such memories don't fade," he said.

In an address on behalf of victims' families, 53-year-old Chiharu Tanaka, who lost her mother in the quake, expressed some of those memories.

"The earthquake disaster claimed the lives and happiness of many people. I cannot forget that day when I could not do anything other than lament," Tanaka said. "Yet, the time and my family's love have released my feelings, and I have come to think I want to convey what happened at that time and what I felt to those people who have never experienced an earthquake disaster."

The number of survivors who have died alone in public housing complexes has climbed to 568 since 2000, when the temporary facilities were officially shut down, highlighting one of the biggest post-quake challenges yet to be effectively addressed.