Tony Cole removes debris from his flooded home in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday Feb. 28, 2011. Christchurch was hit by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake causing many areas remain flooded following the quake-triggered liquefaction. (AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Brett Phibbs)
Some 49 square kilometers of land in quake-ravaged Christchurch, New Zealand, has undergone liquefaction -- a phenomenon that turns soil fluid in earthquakes -- a Japanese specialist says.
Susumu Yasuda, a member of the Japanese Geotechnical Society who is heading an investigation team in Christchurch following the Feb. 22 quake, said the city had been hit by one of the largest cases of liquefaction he had seen in over 30 years of conducting liquefaction surveys.
"Liquefaction, occurring mainly around the Avon River, is spread over an area of about 7 by 7 kilometers. Liquefaction flow, in which the ground moves horizontally, has also extended several meters, and buildings, bridges and sewer pipes have been damaged as a result. There have been few cases in the past in which damage from liquefaction has been so great," Yasuda told the Mainichi in a telephone interview.
Yasuda said that liquefaction flow resulted in building piles snapping and bridges being damaged. In many cases, large amounts of sand were pushed up out of the ground, with some areas seeing half a meter piled up.
Yasuda also visited Christchurch after a magnitude 7 earthquake hit the region in September 2010. He said that ground in the city was soft in areas where sand from the river had collected, making it easy for liquefaction to occur. In last year's earthquake, some 4,000 homes became uninhabitable. The damage is far greater this time.
"The amplitude of the latest earthquake was several times bigger than the one last year. The scope of liquefaction is also three to five times bigger, and there's a possibility the damage amount will get even greater," Yasuda said.
"Liquefaction, occurring mainly around the Avon River, is spread over an area of about 7 by 7 kilometers. Liquefaction flow, in which the ground moves horizontally, has also extended several meters, and buildings, bridges and sewer pipes have been damaged as a result. There have been few cases in the past in which damage from liquefaction has been so great," Yasuda told the Mainichi in a telephone interview.
Yasuda said that liquefaction flow resulted in building piles snapping and bridges being damaged. In many cases, large amounts of sand were pushed up out of the ground, with some areas seeing half a meter piled up.
Yasuda also visited Christchurch after a magnitude 7 earthquake hit the region in September 2010. He said that ground in the city was soft in areas where sand from the river had collected, making it easy for liquefaction to occur. In last year's earthquake, some 4,000 homes became uninhabitable. The damage is far greater this time.
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