20 years since the Hanshin Earthquake

Today is the twentieth anniversary since the Great Hanshin Earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995 at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale. Approximately 6,434 people lost their lives.

During this time I was living in Tokyo and residing at The Four Seasons Hotel. Due to the time of the day (early morning) and the distance away from the epicenter, I did not feel the quake. Upon arising that morning I heard the news via television. In hindsight it is surprising how little information was available. Other than helicopters overhead providing aerial images, little information was getting out of the region. By 7 AM, only two deaths had been confirmed.

Arriving at the office a few hours later, the earthquake was the main subject of conversation. Many of our employees had family and friends in the stricken area. But information was still sparse and infrequent updates. Around noon I checked the television reports and the death toll was up to 98. When I told our staff, they thought I had misunderstood the report. Their opinions were, "Things could not possibly be so severe."

In the hours and days later, the news would become increasingly worse.