Great Kanto earthquake Great Kanto Earthquake The Great Kanto Earthquake (関東大震災 Kantō daishinsai) struck the Kanto plain on the Japanese main island of Honshu at 11:58 on the morning of September 1, 1923. The quake was later estimated to have had a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale. It destroyed the Japanese port city of Yokohama as well as surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, and Tokyo. According to most reliable sources, at least 105,385 lost their lives and over 37,000 are missing believed to be dead. Most of the fatalies were caused by 88 fires which broke out separately and spread rapidly due to high winds from a typhoon near the Noto peninsula. In several places, firestorms were observed - the largest of which claimed at least 30,000 lives at Rikugun Honjo Hifukusho. As the earthquake had caused water mains to break, putting out the fires took nearly two full days until late morning of September 3rd. Along with many lost lives, over 570,000 homes were destroyed, leaving an estimated 1.9 million homeless or refugees. The damage is estimated to exceed one billion U.S. dollars at the time of the earthquake. The chaos and panic created by the earthquake led to rumours of Koreans looting and committing arson. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of Koreans and people from Okinawa were killed by civilians militia. The total death toll for Koreans including those killed by the disaster was estimated at around 6,000. In many places, check points were established that checked whether they were looters or merely trespassers. Socialists like Hirasawa Keishichi and anarchists like Osugi Sakae and Ito Noe were killed because of the fear that socialists and anarchists would use this opportunity to overthrow the government. After the earthquake, Goto Shinpei organized a reconstruction plan of Tokyo with modern networks of roads, trains, and public services. Parks were placed all over Tokyo to work as a refugee spot and public buildings were constructed with more severe standards than private buildings to accomodate refugees. However, breakout of and destructions by war severly limited resources and in some places, construction is still under way. In 1960, September 1st was designated as Disaster Prevention Day to commemorate the earthquake and remind people of the importance of preparation as October and September are the middle of the typhoon season. Public and private organizations host disaster drills. Tokyo is located near a fault line under Izu peninsula which, on average, causes a major earthquake about once every 70 years. External links Great Kanto Earthquake 1923 Online photo gallery by A. Kengelbacher USGS Earthquake Lists A Study by Kajima Construction Company The 1923 Kanto Massacre of Koreans in Japan: A Japanese Professor Reveals the Truth Article from Korean newspaper Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Kanto_earthquake