January 17, 2020, marks the 25th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, a JMA magnitude 7.2 earthquake that ravaged Kobe, Japan and surrounding communities, resulting in the deaths of over 6,400 people.  I was one of thousands of foreigners living in or visiting Kobe when the quake struck.  On the following pages are some of our stories and images of what we saw and experienced on that terrible day and during its aftermath.  

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            I hope this website will become a written and photographic record of the experiences of foreign residents and visitors during the 1995 earthquake.  If you were in or near Kobe during the earthquake and wish to share your own story, images, videos or comments, I welcome hearing from you and invite you to contact me.  I will select stories and images from others to add to this website.  Please click HERE for suggested guidelines on personal stories and photos. 

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            Why did I create this website?  And why the focus on experiences by foreigners?  Kobe is an international city that was and remains home to many thousands of foreigners from numerous countries around the world.  According the the U.S. State Department, there were as many as 2,000 Americans living in Kobe and the surrounding communities devastated by the quake.  Thousands more from many other countries were there as well.  Despite these numbers, there is very little English-language information available on the web noting eyewitness accounts of the quake by foreigners.  Almost all of the personal accounts of the quake are by Japanese written in Japanese.  The Japanese suffered terribly, and this website in no way diminishes their suffering.  On the contrary, those of us who lived in Kobe and experienced the quake first-hand have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for our Japanese neighbors and hosts.  As a people, the residents of Kobe showed a remarkable degree of strength, courage, calmness, unity and perseverance that made it possible for Kobe to so quickly recover and rebuild.

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Foster Thorbjornsen

December 21, 2019

Resident of Nada-ku, Kobe

1994-2003

Currently residing in USA