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At 5:46 A.M. on January 17, 1995, southern Hyogo Prefecture was struck by a major earthquake with its epicenter beneath the northern part of Awaji Island. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 and registered an intensity of 7 on the Japanese scale of 7 in parts of Kobe and neighboring areas. The temblor was so powerful that an intensity of 4 or more was recorded across an extensive area, including the Kinki, Tokai, Hokuriku, Chugoku, and Shikoku regions. In the Hanshin and Awaji areas, where the earthquake was centered, more than 5,500 people were killed and more than 41,000 were injured (as of May 21). More than 398,000 buildings, including homes, factories, and shops, collapsed or were destroyed by fire. There was also considerable destruction of infrastructure, including transportation routes and port facilities. Lifeline facilitieso water supply, telecommunications, and electric powero were also damaged. This earthquake, the worst natural disaster to hit Japan in the postwar period, was named the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

The earthquake had tragic consequences for education, claiming the lives of 376 children and 27 staff members of kindergartens, elementary schools, and lower and upper secondary schools and of 112 students (including 12 foreign students) and 14 staff members of universities and other institutions of higher education (as of May 22). Damage was done to 3,883 school facilities, including kindergartens, elementary schools, lower and upper secondary schools, universities, and special training colleges, especially in Hyogo and Osaka Prefectures. Also damaged were 468 social education, sports, and cultural facilities and 173 cultural properties, including important cultural properties ( Table SR.1).

After the earthquake MESSC established the MESSC Southern Hyogo Prefecture Earthquake Emergency Countermeasures Headquarters under the chairmanship of the Permanent Vice-Minister. The headquarters' objectives were to provide relief to victims in the immediate post-disaster period, to obtain accurate information about the impact on education as quickly as possible, and to support continued school education.