Analysis of liquefaction damage in Mihama-ku of Chiba city due to 2011 Tohoku earthquake

Abstract

 Mihama-ku of Chiba city, which consists entirely of reclaimed ground, suffered from extensive liquefaction damage due to March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The damage map, however, showed non-uniform distribution by a great deal. This paper examines the cause of this non-uniformity by conducting earthquake response analyses based on a newly constructed soil model for entire Mihama-ku, microtremor measurements and investigation of the land reclamation process. It was found from the study, that the non-uniform liquefaction damage distribution was resulted from non-uniform ground conditions which were created through the land reclamation process of dredging.