The timber piles of the existing I-5 bridge over the Columbia River is vulnerable to liquefaction in the event of a major earthquake. And there is no shortage of potential sources for the shaking in the area. A slip along the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate could be one potential source, as could a major fault zone along Portland’s west hills. These considerations are one of the reasons a new Columbia River Crossing project is being pursued. [Source: The Columbian via AGC SmartBrief. Image: The Columbian]
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Christchurch, New Zealand Earthquake February 2011 News Resources
A deadly magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand on February 22, killing at least 147 and with around 200 still missing. Many buildings have been badly damaged or destroyed and residents also had to deal with large quanities of mud and water which was a result of the liquefaction. The same region was affected by a 7.1 magnitude quake in September of 2010. That earthquake was centered deeper and farther from the metropolitan area so there were fewer casualties and less damage. But many buildings that had recently been repaired, or were even still under repair were devastated once again. Some early reports were calling this earthquake an aftershock of the September earthquake, but maps I’ve seen (at right) show pretty clearly it was a different fault segment that ruptured during this earthquake. I have a collection of links below that might be of interest. My heart goes out to the people of New Zealand affected by this disaster.
Video: UC Davis team studies liquefaction in Japan
"I’m a member of an organization, the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Organization," said U.C. Davis Professor Ross Boulanger, Ph.D. Boulanger recently led a team of researchers in Japan, looking at how the dramatic earthquake […]