Kobe marks 23 years since earthquake that killed more than 6,400

The western Japan city of Kobe and neighboring areas on Wednesday marked the 23rd anniversary of the magnitude 7.3 earthquake that claimed the lives of 6,434 people, with many vowing to pass on the lessons learned from the disaster to future generations.Survivors and residents braved the rain to observe a moment of silence at 5:46 a.m., the moment on Jan. 17, 1995, when the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck the port city west of Osaka, devastating the area.At a memorial event held at a Kobe park, citizens lit some 7,000 bamboo lanterns arranged to spell out the date of the disaster along with…READ FULL ARTICLE