10 Years Ago in TIME

TIME's story on the GREAT HANSHIN EARTHQUAKE of 1995 documented a disaster that left 6,400 dead and 300,000 homeless. It was the deadliest earthquake to hit Japan in 72 years:

In recent times, Japanese have come to believe in the power of science to guard them against the catastrophic thrashing. The nation invested heavily in quake research, quakeproof engineering and quake relief. Not only did they believe their seismologists could predict the next Big One, but their leaders also gave the impression they would be ready for it when it came. But when the ground shook under...

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