Tagged: Liquefaction

Japanese Earthquakes
5:57 am
Tue July 17, 2012

Northwest States Mapping Liquefaction Susceptibility

Credit Photo courtesy UW College of Engineering
Soil liquefaction and lateral spreading in Tumwater, WA after the 2001 Nisqually Quake.

Two major earthquakes last year raised red flags for the Northwest. Some of the damage from those quakes in Japan and New Zealand resulted from a phenomenon called liquefaction. This is when the ground turns to jello or quicksand. Transmission towers topple, buildings sink and utility pipes break. Now, geologists in the Northwest have mapped the spots most likely to liquefy here in an earthquake. Correspondent Tom Banse begins our story in Japan.

Read more