1998 Volume 49 Issue 1 Pages 2-20
What the word “jisin” (“earthquake”) refers to is not the same what “shinsai” (“earthquake disaster”) refers to. The former means “tremor of the earth”, and the latter means “disaster by an earthquake”. “Earthquake disaster” results from the interaction of natural phenomena and human life conditions. Thus, it is necessary for the study of “earthquake disaster” to investigate the living arrangements of the areas harmed by the quake.
From this perspective, we describe the damages by “Hansin-Awaji Earthquake Disaster” in Ashiya-city in relation to the living arrangements of various areas within the city.
We divide Ashiya into 5 areas from “Mountain” to “Seaside”. For each area, we show the data of its damage by the earthquake and its quality of living arrangement. Ashiya has an image of “Cultural Residential City of International Importance” with its luxuary mansions and highly modern apartments. But we argue that there is a great discrepancy between its image and reality, particularly in the case of “Central” area which was the most seriously damaged. “Mountain” area and “New Seaside” area were consistent with Ashiya's image and had better quality of living arrangement, which resulted in much less death-rates. Yet, people in “Central” area lived under less earthquake-resistant conditions, which led to the worst disaster of “Seismic Intensity 7”.
