Specific Geological causes:
The magnitude of the Hanshin earthquake is 7.2 on the Richter scale. The epicenter is 34.6 N 135.0E Awajishima Island, 20 miles south of Kobe and the focus of the earthquake was at North latitude 34 degrees, east longitude of 135 degrees and 16 km of depth (vathena). The cause of the Hanshin earthquake is because of the location where Japan is. Kobe is located the farthest away from the three big tectonic plates: Pacific, Eurasian and Philippine. Kobe is also located right under parts of the fault that was already broken down from big earthquakes in 1944 and 1946, so it would have more possibilities to have an earthquake. Kobe is also a little off the Median Tectonic Line, an area of strike-slip faults. The strike-slip fault is a movement in the crust going up and down which causes earthquakes. …
