Two events have virtually destroyed Kobe. The first was during World War II air raids. The second was the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995. This 6.9 magnitude tremor killed almost 6,500 people and injured another 43,000. 120 of the 150 quays at Port Kobe were damaged or destroyed. These leaning lampposts along crippled Meriken Wharf were retained as part of the Earthquake Memorial Park. To learn more about this local disaster, visit the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial Museum a short distance away.