Abstract
Research and practices on remedial measures for river dikes against soil liquefaction during earthquakes are presented. Though the river dikes have been constructed without rational seismic design but with empirical rules in their long history, intense urbanization to lowland behind dikes is demanding rationalization of the seismic design of river dikes. Geotechnical features of the foundation condition for dikes to fail, and the mechanism of dike failure are being revealed by what happened during the recent earthquakes in Japan. Advanced methods of estimating the earthquake-induced settlement of river dikes are also being developed in recent years. This paper attempts to compile the current trend of research direction and practices in Japan for strengthening the river dikes against earthquakes.
