This article notes that the combination of shallow water table and crummy soils make it difficult to rebuild safely in the Christchurch, New Zealand business district. Another interesting item mentioned in the article is that the report they are citing indicates that the high variability in liquefaction damage throughout the business district appears to correlate with the paleo channels beneath the city, where the loose, silty alluvial deposits near the old channels were the most susceptible to liquefaction, but the gravelly soils farther away were not. [Source: TVNZ. Image: TVNZ]
