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32 � Transportation Statistics Annual Report 1996
could possibly generate energy of M8+. (EQE
International 1995) The San Francisco earthquake
of 1906 registered M8.3. Other areas,
such as the Pacific Northwest, should not be
complacent about the chances of a major earthquake
either, even though the probability of a
major earthquake there is lower than one in
California. Most people expected that Tokyo
would be the site of a major earthquake rather
than Kobe. Possibly more frightening is that—as
devastating as it was—the Kobe earthquake is
considered a moderate event. Neither Kobe nor
Northridge was the “big one.”
In general, older structures and those not
retrofitted to new building codes implemented
in 1981 performed very poorly in Kobe. This
includes the Hanshin Expressway built in the
1960s and old elevated railway lines. Post-1981
structures performed much better. The major
exceptions to this were buildings, bridges, and
other structures built on the softest soil and
reclaimed land, including portions of the
Wangan Expressway and the entire port. Finding
ways of mitigating the effects of liquefaction,
lateral spreading, and settlement in such places
seems to be a high priority. (EQE International
1995) As was found after the Northridge earthquake,
newer design standards can work well in
moderate to large earthquakes, and retrofitting
older structures is important. Kobe also points to
a concern for U.S. ports on or near faults. Many
ports on the west coast including the ports of
Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, and
Vancouver are prone to earthquake damage.
Lessons from Kobe’s railways also need to be
studied for application to commuter rail systems
and subways such as those in San Francisco and
Los Angeles.
References
American Association of Railroads (AAR).
1980. Yearbook of Railroad Facts. Washington,
DC: June.
_____. 1995a. Locomotive Ownership and Condition
Report, January 1, 1995. Washington,
DC. March.
_____. 1995b. Railroad Facts. Washington, DC.
Amtrak. 1995. National Railroad Passenger Corporation
1994 Annual Report. Washington,
DC: National Railroad Passenger Corporation.
Box, B. 1995. Regaining Lost Ground. Seatrade
Review. March.
Doi, M. 1996. Transportation Decision-Making
Under Crisis Conditions: Kobe, Japan Experience,
paper presented at Restoring
Mobility and Economic Vitality Following
Major Urban Earthquakes, a conference cosponsored
by the U.S. Department of Transportation,
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
and the University of California Transportation
Center. April.
Eno Transportation Foundation. 1995. Transportation
in America. Lansdowne, VA.
EQE International. 1995. The January 17, 1995
Kobe Earthquake, an EQE Summary Report.
San Francisco, CA. April.
Gordon, P., H.W. Richardson, and B. Davis.
1996. Transportation-Related Business Interruption
Impacts of the Northridge Earthquake,
paper presented at Restoring Mobility
and Economic Vitality Following Major
Urban Earthquakes, a conference co-sponsored
by the U.S. Department of Transportation,
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
and the University of California Transportation
Center. April.
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). 1995.
Finance Docket No. 32549. August.
Krapf, D. 1994. Hoisting the Foreign Flag.
Workboat Magazine 51:11/12. November/
December.