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| | Yokohama, Japan |
 | | It grew in significance as a port when, in 1872, the first railroad in Japan connected Yokohama with Shimbashi in Tokyo and in 1889 it was constituted as a city with an area of 5.5 square kilometers and a population of 116,193. |
 | | Yokohama has continued to grow ever since, despite two major disasters; one natural and one induced by man. On September 1, 1923, the Kanto Plain was hit by a major earthquake, measuring 7.9 in magnitude on the Japanese scale. |
 | | Yokohama was practically obliterated by the seismic shocks, the devastating fires that swept through the city, and the tsunami tidal wave that followed. |
| worldfacts.us /Japan-Yokohama.htm (1430 words) |
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