Kobe, Japan

Date: Jan. 16, 1995
More than 6,000 people died and 300,000 were left homeless after the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck this major Japanese port city. Some 45,000 homes were estimated to have been destroyed or heavily damaged, along with the city's major highways, railways and bridges. The total cost of the disaster was estimated at more than $100 billion.

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Credit: AP