Geotechnical Lessons Learnt From Neftegorsk Earthquake

• Main Author: Klyachko, Mark A.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Scholars' Mine 2001
• Subjects: Geotechnical Engineering; Sakhalin
• Online Access: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icrageesd/04icrageesd/session10/9; https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1810&context=icrageesd

Under Neftegorsk (North Sakhalin) earthquake (1:04 a.m. local time, 05.28.95) 17 residential large-block houses were fully collapsed and killed almost everybody of inhabitants. Most of investigators explain this tragedy by poor construction. Other cause related to soil condition is under consideration. The author argues that “soil version” is more reasonable and significant than “construction version”. Neftegorsk is located on the sand deposits and just inundated sands, which were in basement of the 5-story buildings and had a liquefaction ability, could provoke a rapid inhomogeneous buildings settlements under vertical earthquake component. Thus, the absence of forehanded geotechical analysis under new seismic hazard conditions has resulted in soil liquefaction and subsequent structural collapse.