Journal of Natural Disaster Science

Journal of Natural Disaster Science Vol.20, No.1, 1998

Characteristics of Traffic Conditions Immediately after the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

Dai NAKAGAWA,
Kyoto University
Tadashi ITOH,
Wakayama National College of Technology
Koji YOSHIKAWA
Meijo University
and
Hiroshi KOBAYASHI
Ministry of Construction

(Received 4 March, 1998 and In revised form 7 September, 1998)

Abstract

The traffic condition immediately after the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake are described both quantitatively and qualitatively in order to clarify the cause of traffic jams that occurred in the damaged area. We first estimated the volume of traffic directed into and out of the area and assessed the road and traffic requirements of the freight traffic needed to carry in relief and rescue materials. We examined the balance or the volume capacity for road traffic and the demand for relief materials in terms of freight traffic. Lastly we analyzed the character of the trips that took place in this area.

Key words

Hanshin-Awaji earthquake, traffic jam, relief materials