Japan megaquake would leave half a million without shelter: survey

40% of communities in Nankai Trough zone fall short on space for evacuees

20250117 Kobe earthquake highway

This section of highway in Japan's Kobe collapsed during a massive earthquake on Jan. 17, 1995. 

Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- Since a massive earthquake devastated the city of Kobe in 1995, shelters remain unequipped to accommodate at least 530,000 evacuees if a similar disaster were to occur in the same region, a Nikkei study shows.

Friday marks the 30th year since the Jan. 17, 1995, earthquake shook the Osaka-Kobe area, killing more than 4,000 people and destroying 400,000 buildings. The region is located adjacent the Nankai Trough, an undersea fault line running off the coast of Shizuoka prefecture near Tokyo to Miyazaki prefecture further southwest.

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