Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake (magnitude 7.2) at Jan.17, 1995 was associated with ground surface fault displacement along the neotectonic Nojima fault on the Awajishima Island, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.The characteristics of the Nojima seismic fault and the earthquake damage are follows.
1) The seismic fault was formed just on the NE-SW trending Nojima active fault which was recognized on the boundary between the southeast mountainous part and the northeast hilly land.
2) The on-land seismic fault trace in over 9 km long.The maximum right-lateral displacement and northwest side throw attains 1.7m and 1.3m respectively.
3) The seismic repture which started at a point in the Akashi strait and propagated southwestward, stopped at the fault jog at Tomishima associated with some small scale fault branches.
4) The seismic faulting was associated with various fault structures on the ground surface affected by the thickness of the surface soft sediments; right-lateral offset, fault scarplet, small scale landslide, undulation and distortion of ground surface, left-step echelon gash, pull-apart and push-up, and mole track.
5) The fault striation at Nashimoto village, near the southern end of the Nojima seismic fault, is horizontal. In Hirabayashi village which is on the middle part of the fault trace, three striations with different orientations were observed;70°N at first, 20°N secondly and 30°S finally, suggesting the displacement splitting at the fault propagation.
6) The earthquake damage, including the collapse of houses and irrigation ponds was concentrated not only in the narrow about 20 m in width on the both sides of the seismic fault but also in the areas on the soft ground.
7) The shear zone of the Nojima fault has a zoned structure;granitic cataclasite, thin alternation of consolidated and very fine grained and consolidated gouge and pseudotachylyte-like rock, sheared Miocene sandstone and unconsolidated fault clay, representing rocks formed in the various depths.
8) The after-slip attains 20 cm at the 55th after the main shock.
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