From Myth to Reality… Liquefaction in the Canterbury Earthquake

Chris Bauld & Mike Jacka

The sequence of earthquakes that struck the Canterbury Region over late 2010 and early 2011 has resulted in a tragic loss of life.

Those following the tragedy from afar will have seen a stream of photographs and video of collapsed buildings with a sprinkling of images showing rockfall, landslides with flooding and ejected sand from the liquefaction. The liquefaction hazard is one that has been widely acknowledged within the geotechnical community but has always been difficult to communicate to those outside of our industry.

Chris and Mike will be focusing on the significant damage caused by liquefaction in Canterbury, how this fits with our expectations as geotechnical engineers and some observations that can be made to guide our response in the future.

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