Japan marked the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake on January 17.

People gathered at Kobe East Park in western Japan to observe a moment of silence at 5:46 a.m., the time the quake struck in 1995.

The magnitude 7.3 temblor devastated Kobe and its vicinity, killing 6,434 people.

The quake registered 7, the highest on Japan's seismic intensity scale, in Kobe and some nearby cities.

S/ Survivor / Fire trucks came, but there was no water. What we did was stop people from going to help their family members (trapped in burning homes), telling them not to go.

S/ Woman who lost her elder sister / It's been 30 years since my sister passed away. We've all gotten older, but when I come here, tears come out, even after 30 years.