DK - WOW! The Visual Encyclopedia of Everything

161

KOBE 1995

Japan was created by intense

earth movements in the

western Pacific, and it has

more earthquakes than almost

anywhere else. In 1995, an

earthquake wrecked the city of

Kobe, destroying this elevated

highway and killing 6,433 people.

TSUNAMI 2004

The Asian tsunami that

killed more than 283,000

in 2004 was caused by an

earthquake on the ocean

floor off Sumatra. The shock

sent huge waves racing

across the Indian Ocean,

devastating communities

all around its shores.

Above left: the

city of Banda

Aceh, Sumatra,

Indonesia, as it

was in April 2004

Left: the same

area pictured

in January 2006,

after the tsunami

had struck

INDONESIA 2006

In 2006, a serious earthquake struck the Indonesian

island of Java, wrecking up to 135,000 houses and

killing at least 5,780 people. It also damaged the

ancient Hindu temple of Prambanan, a World

Heritage Site, but did not destroy it.

160_161_Earthquakes.indd 161 10/01/19 2:26 PM