Earthquake light: 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan

There were eyewitness reports of earthquake light, co-seismic luminous phenomena in the 1995 Kobe earthquake (Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake) in Japan. The Kobe earthquake occurred at 5:46 a.m. (LT) on January 17, 1995 around the Hanshin area in Japan. The M7.2 earthquake strongly attacked Kobe City. On that early morning, two young persons on Mt. Rokko (northeast side of Kobe) saw a luminous object moving a few seconds before the main shock. Independently, fishermen working around Osaka Bay (opposite side of Mt. Rokko) also noticed a moving luminous object. The direction of movement and the orbit of the luminous object might coincide with the direction of the rupture.