An earthquake occurred on January 17th, 1995, at 5:46 am in the south-central part of Japan. This earthquake registered as 7.2 on the Richter scale and caused mass destruction. It was thus named The Great Hanshin Earthquake. It later earned the name as the Kobe Earthquake due to the amount of damage that Kobe, Japan suffered. Its focus was only 16 km below ground. Shock-waves splintered buildings, destroyed roads, and ruptured mains of gas, water, and electricity. Over 6,400 people lost their lives, many of whom lived in Kobe and resided in the suburbs. The Kobe Earthquake proved clearly and tragically that even the most technologically advanced country can be unprepared for natural disasters. Even though Japan had a disastrous earthquake in 1923 which claimed 140,000 lives and cost billions of dollars in damages, and a mild earthquake which occurred in Northridge in 1994, their efforts to retrofit buildings and freeways proved to be unsatisfactory.…