At 5:45 AM on January 17th, 1995, a violent earthquake struck the city of Kobe. In the 30 second quake, 5000 people lost their lives, and billions and billions of dollars were lost. 

However, to this day, specialists say that Kobe was lucky. If the quake had struck 30 minuets to an hour later, the death toll would have been 50000. If the quake had struck any time between 8 am to 9 pm, the death toll would have been around 150,000 because of the crushed office buildings, the packed subway system, and the ever crowded streets and highways.

But for those who lost family, friends, and neighbors, no one felt lucky. The fear is engraved, and the sorrow is to remain.

14 years from the quake, the city is still rebuilding itself, and no one has forgotten those 30 seconds, or the days that followed.

These photos come from a turning point in my life as a photographer.  I was in the middle of moving from Osaka to Tokyo, and turned around to head to Kobe which was not far from where I lived.  It took me 2 days to enter the city, and I was only able to stay for 1 day.  On this 1 day, I was not on assignment, and had little film on me.  But more importantly, I made a choice.  After shooting for 5 hours, I set my Camera aside.  There were hundreds of photographers from around the world, and few hands to help those who needed assistance.  To this day, I do not know if that was the right choice.  As a photographer, the answer would probably be no. 

Having said that, although I did not shoot much, as a photographer and a human being I feel that is my obligation to share those few shots that I took so that we will never forget those moments.

Shannon Higgins