Section 3. Disaster Preparedness and Risk Management

1. The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and Daibiru's Response

The magnitude 7.2 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck the northern part of Awaji Island on January 17, 1995. Kobe and the surrounding cities were severely damaged by the earthquake, which struck directly beneath the metropolitan region. There were 6,434 deaths and 43,792 injuries with three people missing. Many of our employees commuted from the Hanshin area to work at the Daibiru head office in Nakanoshima Osaka. In the end, although the homes of only six employees were fully or partially destroyed, no one was killed or injured—including family members and members of the alumni association.

Many of the buildings in central Osaka did not collapse but still suffered damage, including cracked interior and exterior walls, a significant amount of broken glass on the streets, and some hotels and department stores that were unable to open for business. The reason our buildings suffered only slight damage was that we had learned from the Great Kanto Earthquake, which occurred on September 1, 1923, and had made earthquake resistance a top priority in the construction of all of our buildings. Some of the buildings owned by Daibiru suffered cracks, elevators underwent emergency stoppages, and some marble and ceramic tiles broke loose, but all these issues were minor and quickly restored through repairs.