From: 	Edward Becerra[SMTP:eabecerr@henge1.henge.com]

	This was due to what's often called 'earthflow' by some experts,

together with an eathquake, it causes many 'quake-proof' buildings to fail
due to the additional stress. <<

I've read that 'earthflow' happens mostly on reclaimed land. That was the cause of the major damage at Kobe harbour. It doesn't account for the damage to buildings on solid ground. It seems that building contractors cut corners during construction. Therefore the building codes became useless no matter how through they were. Another thing was the Japanese are so confident about their earthquake prediction abilities, they are not that concerned about earthquake survivalbility for their buildings. Hopefully, that's changed after Kobe.