Liquefaction Hazards from “Inherited Vulnerabilities”

This paper discusses two forms of soil liquefaction that are particularly damaging for engineering structures and communities: liquefaction of reclaimed land and urban liquefaction. Case histories from recent New Zealand earthquakes are used to illustrate characteristics of liquefaction manifestation and associated damage to land and structures. Liquefaction of gravelly fills at Wellington port and influence of finer sand‐silt fractions on the liquefaction performance of well‐graded gravelly reclamations are discussed. The importance of cross‐interactions between different layers and system response effects of liquefiable deposits are elucidated through 55 case history sites from Christchurch involving a wide range of observations from no liquefaction to severe liquefaction manifestation.