Tomography of the source area of the 1995 Kobe earthquake: evidence for fluids at the hypocenter?

Seismic tomography revealed a low seismic velocity (-5%) and high Poisson's ratio (+6%) anomaly anomaly covering about 300 square kilometers at the hypocenter of the 17 January 1995, magnitude 7.2, Kobe earthquake in Japan. This anomaly may be due to an overpressurized, fluid-filled, fractured rock matrix that contributed to the initiation of the Kobe earthquake.
The 17 January 1995, magnitude (M) 7.2, Kobe (Hyogo-Ken Nanbu) earthquake was the most damaging earthquake to strike Japan since the Kanto earthquake in 1923 (1). The Kobe earthquake occurred [...]