Comparison of the Kobe and Sichuan Earthquake

Created by: FM 1
Created on: 11-04-18 16:15


	Comparison of the Kobe and Sichuan Earthquake
	Similarities Both caused by a destructive plate margin. Both paid £100 billion in order to repair the damage. China went bankrupt because of this and so had to build new building cheaply (so were not earthquake proof). Japan however, built earthquake-proof buildings. Both governments made mistakes when dealing with he earthquakes. Kobe rejected international aid at first but after coming under criticism accepted and Sichuan failed to prepare its people even when it new that an earthquake was likely. Both had a focus close to the epicentre (Kobe= 16km below the epicentre and Sichuan= 17km below the epicentre) Both had failures with prediction; Kobe didn't have as much prediction equipment as the rest of Japan and Sichuan did not alert its people about the potential earthquake.	Differences Kobe is in Japan, which has a developed economy, whereas Sichuan is in China which has a economy that is still developing and is still quite poor. Kobe earthquake occurred due to the Philippines and Eurasian plate, whereas the Sichuan earthquake took place along the Indian and Eurasian plate. Kobe earthquake= 7.2 on the Richter scale whereas Sichuan earthquake= 7.9 Sichuan suffered greater damage as 69,000 people died, 374,000 injured and 5 million homeless. Whereas in Kobe, 5000 died, 300,000 homeless and 102,000 building were destroyed. Kobe experienced 300 fired due to gas leaks whereas Sichuan experience none. Sichuan did however suffer from blocked roads and burst river banks whereas Kobe didn't.
	Overall comparison Overall, I think that Sichuan's earthquake was more destructive as 64,000 more people died and more buildings collapsed meaning more people were made homeless. I think that Kobe has learnt from its destructive earthquake as it has passed laws that ensures all building are earthquake proof, as they have counterweights on roofs and cross steel frames. Sichuan on the other hand did not makes its buildings earthquake proof during the rebuilding process, meaning that the Chinese government has not learnt from its mistakes.

Comparison of the Kobe and Sichuan Earthquake

Similarities

Both caused by a destructive plate margin.
Both paid £100 billion in order to repair the damage. China went bankrupt because of this and so had to build new building cheaply (so were not earthquake proof). Japan however, built earthquake-proof buildings.
Both governments made mistakes when dealing with he earthquakes. Kobe rejected international aid at first but after coming under criticism accepted and Sichuan failed to prepare its people even when it new that an earthquake was likely.
Both had a focus close to the epicentre (Kobe= 16km below the epicentre and Sichuan= 17km below the epicentre)
Both had failures with prediction; Kobe didn't have as much prediction equipment as the rest of Japan and Sichuan did not alert its people about the potential earthquake.

Differences

Kobe is in Japan, which has a developed economy, whereas Sichuan is in China which has a economy that is still developing and is still quite poor.
Kobe earthquake occurred due to the Philippines and Eurasian plate, whereas the Sichuan earthquake took place along the Indian and Eurasian plate.
Kobe earthquake= 7.2 on the Richter scale whereas Sichuan earthquake= 7.9
Sichuan suffered greater damage as 69,000 people died, 374,000 injured and 5 million homeless. Whereas in Kobe, 5000 died, 300,000 homeless and 102,000 building were destroyed.
Kobe experienced 300 fired due to gas leaks whereas Sichuan experience none.
Sichuan did however suffer from blocked roads and burst river banks whereas Kobe didn't.

Overall comparison

Overall, I think that Sichuan's earthquake was more destructive as 64,000 more people died and more buildings collapsed meaning more people were made homeless. I think that Kobe has learnt from its destructive earthquake as it has passed laws that ensures all building are earthquake proof, as they have counterweights on roofs and cross steel frames. Sichuan on the other hand did not makes its buildings earthquake proof during the rebuilding process, meaning that the Chinese government has not learnt from its mistakes.

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Comparison of the Kobe and Sichuan Earthquake