This report describes the observations and preliminary assessments of the members of the Reconnaissance Team of the New Zealand National Society for Earthquake Engineering which visited Kobe, Japan and the surrounding areas following the Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake of 17 January 1995. The report covers aspects of the effects of the earthquake on the ground, lifelines, buildings, bridges and other structures, and the community. Lessons for New Zealand are discussed.

This paper describes the restoration of the rail and road routes which were seriously damaged in the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 17 January 1995. It is based on observations and data provided during a visit to Kobe, Japan in July 1995, 6 months after the earthquake.

The workshop was held in Tokyo immediately
 prior to 9th World Conference on Earthquake 
Engineering. Two previous workshops have
been held in 1984 and 1986 both with an 
emphasis on seismic building design and 
construction practices. New Zealand and
 China were invited to participate in the
 3rd Workshop which was attended by 17 U.S. 
and 23 Japanese representatives. I was
 privileged to attend the third workshop 
which was organised by the Japan Structural
 Consultants Association. 21 papers were
 presented covering building seismic analysis and design, and comparison of design codes and practices. The conference concluded with a working session which allowed a useful exchange of information. In the notes below I have summarized several items of particular interest to New Zealand practitioners.

The development of a common Earthquake Loading Standard for Australia and New Zealand which has the potential for most countries in SE Asia is discussed in this paper. An historical perspective of earthquake loading standards in the two countries is introduced for background. In addition, two internationally recognised standards, Uniform Building Code (UBC) and Eurocode 8, covering earthquake loadings for areas of both low and high seismicity are presented. A seismic zoning scheme similar to the UBC approach is tentatively suggested for describing the seismic hazard of Australia and New Zealand. It is suggested that the requirements for design and detailing could vary from nominal tying together to capacity design procedures for the lowest and highest seismic zones respectively.