Earthquake Damage to Transportation Systems

Tsunami Bore Destroys Bridge on Wailuku River, HI, 1946

This picture taken near Hilo, Hawaii, shows a bore advancing up the Wailuku River past the railroad bridge. The water rose about 5.1 m at the mouth of the Wailuku River. A steel span of the railroad bridge was torn from its foundation and tossed 273 m upstream by an earlier wave. Photo credit: University of California at Berkeley

Highway Slumped into lake after Earthquake Shaking, Hebgen Lake, MT, 1959

In this photo a section of Highway 287 has slumped into Hebgen Lake. Highway 1 was made impassable for a distance of nearly 56 km from its intersection with U.S. Highway 191. Over 200 vacationers were trapped in Madison Canyon when the earthquake destroyed sections of the highway. Timber and road damage from this shock were estimated at $11 million. Photo credit: University of California, Berkeley

Car Straddles Crack in Road after March 27, 1964 Alaska Earthquake

In this photo a car straddles a crack in the pavement caused by lateral spreading in the 1964 earthquake. The Alaska highway system in the region of strong shaking was severely damaged. Roads in soft ground or on embankments sustained extensive cracking, settlement, and sloughing. More than $13 million was needed to repair the damage. Photo credit: NOAA/NGDC

Damage to Fourth Ave. Anchorage by the 1964 Alaska Earthquake

This view of Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage shows the damage to the street and buildings resulting from the landslide. There was 3.3 m of subsidence and 4.2 m of horizontal movement. Two and one-half blocks of shops, bars, and stores slowly settled until their entrances were below street level. The landslide was induced by a combination of loss of strength in sensitive (quick) clay layers and liquefaction of sand and silt lenses. Photo credit: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute

Compression of Railroad Track by 1964 Alaska Earthquake

This aerial view shows the effects of compression by movement of unconsolidated stream bank material on the railroad. Longitudinal compression dislodged the wooded railroad bridge superstructure from the substructure. Two and one-half years and $22 million were required to repair the damage to the railway system. Photo Credit: University of Colorado

Damage to Railroad Bridge by Alaska Earthquake of 1964

The steel trusses of the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad bridge near Round Island were shifted from one-third to two-thirds meter. This view shows one of the displaced trusses, which pounded against an adjacent steel girder span. The girder span was moved to the right, its concrete pedestal was rotated, and the girder span almost fell into the river. Note the shortening indicated by buckling of the guard rail. Photo credit: U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA

Tsunami Damage to Railroad Facilities by 1964 Alaska Earthquake

The tsunami caused much damage to the railroad facilities at Seward Port. Rails were stripped from the railroad ties by the tsunami. Most of the Alaska Railroad dock was washed away by the waves. The railroad also lost two cranes and its waterfront trackage. Note also the fire-damaged oil storage tanks. Damage at Resurrection Bay totaled $14.6 million dollars. Photo credit: NOAA/NGDC

Boat Beached by Tsunami, 1964 Alaska Earthquake

This photo shows a beached fishing boat in the Seward area. The tsunami waves severely damaged many boats and washed them into the lagoon north of Seward and onto the tidal flats at the head of Resurrection Bay. Dock and harbor facilities were destroyed. A section of the waterfront about 1,060 m long, including the docks and the small boat harbor, slid into Resurrection Bay. Photo credit: University of Colorado

Collapsed Bridge after 1964 Earthquake in Japan

The Showa bridge pictured at left had only recently been opened to traffic. The bridge had seven spans across the river, each supported by piers consisting of structural steel girders carrying a reinforced concrete deck. Two of the piers collapsed. The corresponding spans of the bridge collapsed and dropped into the river. The successive spans toward the west bank also dropped while one end of each span remained connected at the top of successive piers. The construction was such that one end of the girders was locked and the other end was free to slide longitudinally off the pier after about 30 cm of movement. Photo credit: NOAA/NGDC

Damage to Railway by 1965 Seattle Earthquake

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

Freeway Compression Caused by 1971 San Fernando, CA Earthquake

This photo shows freeway compression of about 67.5 cm that occurred south of the Interchanges of Routes 5 and 210. Structural damage to highways and bridges centered in an area north of San Fernando. This area included the Route 5/210 Interchange and the Route 5/14 Interchange which are about 1.7 km apart along Route 5 and about 10 km from the earthquake epicenter. Photo credit: NOAA/NGDC

Collapsed Overpass Caused by 1971 San Fernando, CA Earthquake

Among the most spectacular damage was the collapse of freeway overpasses such as the one shown here that was under construction at the time of the earthquake. At the Route 5/210 interchange (Foothill Boulevard and Golden State Freeway,) three highway overpasses totally collapsed and two required rebuilding. Two men were killed at this location when one of the overpasses collapsed smashing their truck. Photo credit: J.R. Evans

Railroad Tracks Twisted by Fault Trace, 1976 Earthquake in Guatemala

These railroad tracks were twisted and offset 107 cm by the Motagua fault, which is perpendicular to the tracks. This is one of numerous localities along the main railroad line between the coastal port of Puerto Barrios and Guatemala City disrupted by the faulting. Photo credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Collapse of Spans on Bridge Due to 1976 Earthquake in Guatemala

Collapse of three central spans of the Agua Caliente Bridge on the road to the Atlantic Ocean. Both ground shaking and ground failure contributed to this collapse. Photo credit: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute

Landslide Blocks Highway after 1984 Morgan Hill, CA Earthquake

A landslide blocked the highway and bridge on Dunne Avenue at the east side of Cochrane Bridge. The bridge on East Dunne Avenue over Anderson Reservoir (about 7.2 km east of Morgan Hill) was closed to traffic due to a rock slide and major structural damage. Photo credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Rockfall Blocks Highway after 1986 Palm Springs, CA Earthquake

A rockfall and debris slide has partially blocked the highway. Photo credit: Bay Area Regional Earthquake Preparedness Project

Collapse of Streets Caused by Subsidence in 1985 Mexico City Earthquake

Vibration caused failure of the subsoils and subsidence which resulted in the collapse of streets. This type of damage was particularly prevalent in Mexico City since much of the city is located on unconsolidated lake-bed sediments. These soft sedimentary clay deposits amplified the seismic waves and resulted in ground failure. Photo credit: Munchener Ruck, Munich Re

Blocking of Roadways Caused by Building Collapse in the Armenia Earthquake

The ground shaking resulted in the partial or total collapse of buildings in Leninakan and filled the streets with debris making them impassable. The heavy equipment needed to lift off heavy sections of buildings to free survivors had difficulty getting to the sites. Photo credit: C.J. Langer, U.S. Geological Survey

Collapse of Freeway in 1989 Loma Prieta, CA Earthquake

Close-up view looking west of Cypress Section of I-880 in Oakland in which fifty-one spans collapsed. A truck is visible on the lower roadway under the one span that did not collapse. Photo credit: E.V. Leyendecker, U.S. Geological Survey

Damage to San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge 1989, Loma Prieta Earthquake

View of the double-deck San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge looking towards the north. San Francisco is to the west and Oakland is to the east, support Pier E-9 is located in the center of the photo. The 15-m long deck sections in both the upper and lower decks were pulled from their support bearings when the 88-m long truss on the right of Pier E-9 moved about 25.4 cm east. Photo credit: E.V. Leyendecker, U.S. Geological Survey