The Great Hanshin Earthquake -- with a maximum seismic intensity of 7, larger than that commonly assumed by earthquake countermeasures in Japan -- caused great damage in the Kobe City area. A questionnaire survey was sent to a sample of disaster victims in Hyogo prefecture in July 1995, approximately 5 months after the earthquake. Subjects were 3,000 citizens who lived in and around Kobe City. Data for this study were based on 2,452 valid questionnaires. The subjects were divided into four groups according to the degree of damage to their houses. Findings show that one of the most significant problems confronted by rescue and relief teams involved traffic jams caused by an influx of personal cars into the center of the disaster-stricken area. More than 60 percent of the subjects or their family members used their cars during the first 3 days after the earthquake. Almost half of them drove into the center of the damaged area. Although almost all subjects recognized the need for strict traffic restrictions, half of the subjects would have violated those restrictions in using their cars to take injured persons to hospitals, to take household goods to shelters, or to buy daily necessities. Although 40 percent of the subjects believed that crime increased after the earthquake, police statistics on crime suggest the number of crimes decreased. During the 3-month period after the earthquake, 12 percent of the subjects had contact with the police. Most of these reported criminal victimization, disaster victimization, or their needs for rescue activities. Most of them contacted police officers directly, since telephone service had been disrupted. Ninety percent of the subjects believed that rescue procedures should be the top priority of police after an earthquake. Almost half the subjects favored strict criteria for earthquake-resistant buildings, traffic management, and police use of public information channels. (English summary)