5:46:51; 17:01:1995

On This Day In History
1995 - The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake occurred

Quote Of The Day
"It takes an earthquake to remind us that we walk on the crust of an unfinished planet."
(Charles Kuralt)

The Marina Statue in front of City Hall stopped keeping time the moment the earthquake struck. 

More numbers to remember:
7: the magnitude of the earthquake on the JMA Shindo Scale
20: the number of seconds the tremors lasted 
74: the number of noticeable aftershocks that followed 
6,434: the number of people who died as a result of the earthquake
249,155: the number of buildings that were damaged of destroyed
300,000: the number of people who were made homeless and had to be given emergency shelter
1,300,000: the number of households cut of from water
1,000,000+: the number of households cut off from electricty
860,000: the number of households cut off from gas
300,000: the number of households cut off from phone connections
-2: the average daytime temperature

Last year, this beautiful song, written by music teacher Makoto Usui as a way of channeling his emotions when he was caught up in the earthquake, was made Kobe's second official song. Shiawase Hakoberu Youni has become an anthem for disaster survivors across Japan and around the world.  It is incredibly moving.

Shiawase Hakoberu Youni