Recurrent Liquefaction Induced by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

The M_w 9.0 destructive earthquake that occurred March 11, 2011, in Japan was associated with widespread liquefaction within a 650-km long zone that extended from Aomori to Kanagawa Prefectures in the eastern part of Japan. Based on reconnaissance surveys of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, recurrence of liquefaction at the same sites was identified at 85 sites where liquefaction had occurred during the previous earthquakes such as the Chibaken toho-oki earthquake of December 17, 1987 and the Miyagiken-oki earthquake of June 16, 1978; the surveys also compared observed liquefaction effects with those of the previous earthquakes.