Earthquake Damage - General

Compression of Fence, Hebgen Lake, Montana

Ground Deformation-Compression
This snake-like fence at Culligan's ranch (about 1 km east of Red Canyon entrance and less than 20 km from the Montana epicenter) is a result of compression as soils moved downhill during the quake. Movement along a fault running through the Culligan's property damaged practically all the buildings. Photo Credit: J.R. Stacy, U.S. Geological Survey

Slumping of Highway into Hebgen Lake, Montana

Ground Deformation-Slumping
A section of Highway 287 crumbled into Hebgen Lake. Landslides, submersion, cracking, and shifting of the roadway made the road impassable for a distance of nearly 58 km. Over 200 vacationers were trapped in Madison Canyon when the earthquake destroyed whole sections of highway. Timber and road damage were estimated at $11 million. Photo Credit: University of California, Berkeley

Government Hill School

Ground Deformation-Slumping
Photo shows extent of subsidence at Government Hill School in Anchorage. Soils failed and moved down slope. The soil failure left a part of the school on unmoved ground and dropped the remainder into a wide trough or graben. Photo Credit: National Geophysical Data Center

Slumping of Turnagain Heights Subdivision, Anchorage, Alaska

Ground Deformation-Slumping
Slumping of the entire Turnagain Heights subdivision in Anchorage occurred when soil liquefied during the earthquake. The subdivision was located on a bluff above Cook Inlet. A section of earth 2,576 m long and 273 m wide broke loose and slid 21 m toward Cook Inlet. At least 75 houses were destroyed. The most probable explanation of the landslide was a loss of strength in underlying soils from the ground shaking. Sand lenses liquefied and clay soils weakened and moved down slope in a complicated motion. Slope failure began 1.5 to 2.0 minutes after the start of the earthquake. Photo Credit: National Geophysical Data Center

Leaning Apartment Houses in Niigata, Japan

Liquefaction-Differential Settlements
Aerial view of leaning apartment houses in Niigata produced by soil liquefaction and the behavior of poor foundations. Most of the damage was caused by cracking and unequal settlement of the ground such as is shown here. About 1/3 of the city subsided by as much as 2 meters as a result of sand compaction. Photo Credit: National Geophysical Data Center

Union Pacific Railway Damage from Ground Deformation, Seattle, Washington

Ground Deformation-Landslide
Damage to the Union Pacific Railway occurred when hillside fill slid away from beneath a 121 m section of the branch line just outside Olympia, more than 60 km from the epicenter. Photo Credit: University of California, Berkeley

Tipped Residence Due to Differential Settling, Caracas, Venezuela

Ground Deformation-Differential Settling
The ground collapsed beneath this structure in Caracas. A house in foreground has been removed. A number of houses with one or two floors showed great damage in Caracas and in the surrounding area. In addition, a number of high-rise buildings were partially or totally destroyed. This destruction was concentrated in two small areas, one in Caracas and one in Caraballeda, north of Caracas. Soil failures such as the one shown here were blamed for much of the damage. Photo Credit: National Geophysical Data Center

Surface Rupture, Meckering, Australia

Ground Deformation-Surface Rupture
Aerial view shows a railroad crossing surface rupture near Meckering. The fresh surface rupture was about 30 km long. Photo Credit: Dr. Bruce Bolt, University of California, Berkeley

Before View of City Street, Huaraz, Peru

Ground Shaking
Photo shows a city street in Huaraz before the earthquake. This adobe construction is typical of much of the housing that underwent complete collapse in the Andean townships. Photo Credit: University of Colorado

After View of City Street, Huaraz, Peru

Ground Shaking
Photo shows a city street in Huaraz after the earthquake. This adobe construction is typical of much of the housing that underwent complete collapse in the Andean townships. Photo Credit: University of Colorado

Compression of Freeway, San Fernando, California

Surface Faulting
The photo shows freeway compression of about 69 cm that occurred south of the interchanges of Routes 5/210 near San Fernando. The dip of the fault plane on Freeway 210 was inferred to be 12 degrees. Structural damage to highways and bridges from this earthquake centered in an area north of the city, which included the Route 5/210 Interchange and the Route 5/14 Interchange. Most of the major structural damage to highways was within 10 km of the earthquake epicenter. Photo Credit: National Geophysical Data Center

Offset of Trees along Fault, Motagua, Guatemala

Surface Faulting
View southward along a row of trees offset about 3.25 m by strike-slip motion along the Motagua fault in Guatemala. The amount of offset is indicated by the distance between the row of trees on the right and the stake at which the man points. The stake is aligned with the row of trees in the background. Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Twisted Railroad Tracks across Fault, Guatemala

Surface Faulting
The view is looking north along railroad tracks that were twisted and offset 1.07 m by the Motagua fault, which is perpendicular to the tracks. This is one of numerous localities at which the main railroad line between the coastal port of Puerto Barrios and Guatemala City was disrupted by the faulting. Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Landslide near Guatemala City, Guatemala

Landslides
Landslides occurred in the steep roadcut of stratified pumice and ash deposits at the San Cristobal subdivision west of Guatemala City. The materials exposed in this roadcut are typical of much of the Pleistocene tephra deposits that underlie inhabited parts of the Guatemalan highlands. Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Liquefaction, Motagua Valley, Guatemala

Liquefaction
Sand mounds deposited by spouting from the row of crater-like vents in the lower Motagua Valley, Guatemala. Increased pressure due to the earthquake forced the liquefied sands to the surface. Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Support Pillar Failure, Imperial County Services Building, El Centro

Ground Shaking
The support pillar failed at the east end of the Imperial County Services Building in El Centro. This 6-story reinforced concrete frame and shear wall structure completed in 1971 at a construction cost of $1.87 million, was designed to be earthquake resistant. The concrete at the base of the columns was shattered and the vertical reinforced bars were severely bent, allowing the building to sag about 30 cm. The building was later destroyed and rebuilt. Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Offset of Lettuce Rows across Fault, El Centro, California

Surface Faulting
Here earthquake faulting has caused an offset of rows in a lettuce field near El Centro. Such a fault with purely horizontal displacement to the right as one looks across the fault is known as a right lateral strike slip fault. The agriculture industry suffered heavy losses due to damage to canals, irrigation ditches, and subsurface drain tiles disturbed by the movement along the Imperial Fault. Photo Credit: University of Colorado

Slumping near El Centro, California

Ground Deformation-Slumping
This slumping resulted from the earth shaking near El Centro. The earthquake produced extensive lateral slope failure along many irrigation canals. Photo Credit: University of Colorado

Sand Boil produced by Liquefaction, El Centro, California

Liquefaction
The photo shows one of many sand boils that formed near El Centro. At localities where the water table is close to the surface, compaction of saturated unconsolidated materials is often accompanied by ejection of water or water-sediment mixtures forming sand boils. Photo Credit: University of Colorado

Collapsed Unit of Pallante Factory, Campania, Italy

Ground Shaking
Collapsed unit of the Pallante factory at Campania, caused by failure at a construction joint. Some infill walls of the remaining structure have also failed. The large death toll from a magnitude 6.9 earthquake resulted from poor construction practices such as the infill masonry wall shown here. Photo Credit: National Academy Press