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The unreported earthquake story in Japan: liquefaction
Vanity ^ | March 18, 2011 | DTogo

Posted on 03/18/2011 11:29:04 AM PDT by DTogo

Amid the human tragedy, tsunami destruction and nuclear crisis in Japan, another story has gone unreported in the densely populated suburbs of Chiba prefecture just east of Tokyo: the liquefaction of hundreds of acres of reclaimed land. We all know that sand castles on the beach do not last against the tide, and neither do sound houses built on foundations of sand.

The possible liquifecation of large segments of bayside property built up since WWII has long been a concern of geologists and disaster agencies in Japan, and has recently been experienced on a large scale in Christchurch where several neighborhoods are expected to be condemned and abandonded.

The link above highlights the personal account of one gaijin literally watching the ground crack around him, and then the ground water bubble above the surface. I've also heard from family in Chiba that numerous sidewalks, roads, and also some housing structures were affected by liquefaction. Using the Japanese term for liquefaction 液状化(eki jou ka, literally change to a liquid state) in the Youtube search box, numerous personal accounts in Japan can be found.

HERE a very well-informed young lady videotapes the liquefaction of the sidewalk in Urayasu, and identifies it as such when you hear here say at 33sec that it's ekijouka and "they say that mud will come out of the ground."

In front of a crowd of daytime shoppers in Shin Urayasu the sidewalks buckle, crack and the earth "bleeds" mud for all to see.

This video shows some of the aftermath along one of many affected roads.


TOPICS: Extended News; Japan; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: liquefaction
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Certainly not as severve as the complete devastation north of Tokyo surrounding Sendai, but the structural integrity of NUMEROUS skyscrapers, bridges, massive housing structures, and even Tokyo Disneyland, has yet to be assessed.
1 posted on 03/18/2011 11:29:08 AM PDT by DTogo
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To: DTogo

Mission District, San Fransisco, 1989...


2 posted on 03/18/2011 11:31:39 AM PDT by null and void (We are now in day 786 of our national holiday from reality. - It's never 3 AM at the White Hut)
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To: maikeru; Dr. Marten; Eric in the Ozarks; Al Gator; snowsislander; sushiman; AmericanInTokyo; ...
FReepers in Japan, what have you seen/heard on the ground (figuratively and literally) over there about liquefaction?

日本 ピング  (kono risuto ni hairitai ka detai wo shirasete kudasai : let me know if you want on or off this list)

3 posted on 03/18/2011 11:31:47 AM PDT by DTogo (High time to bring back the Sons of Liberty !!)
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To: DTogo

We know about liquefaction on the California coast. In 1989, the part of San Francisco that was land fill (Marina District - huge damage and fires) took a huge hit while that which was built on original rock foundation saw little damage.


4 posted on 03/18/2011 11:32:49 AM PDT by Jim W N
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To: DTogo

Wow.


5 posted on 03/18/2011 11:33:21 AM PDT by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
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To: DTogo
The city of San Francisco is built on sand. If you go to Golden Gate park and scratch the grass you'll see sand, not dirt. And there is no bedrock either. Just sand as far down as you can go.
6 posted on 03/18/2011 11:34:44 AM PDT by ExtremeUnction
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To: DTogo

Wasn’t Mexico City also built on what was a swamp?


7 posted on 03/18/2011 11:34:58 AM PDT by Sola Veritas (Trying to speak truth - not always with the best grammar or spelling)
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To: null and void

Actually, it was the Marina...


8 posted on 03/18/2011 11:35:11 AM PDT by Jim W N
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To: DTogo

Yikes. Tokyo has one hell of alot of landfill real estate.


9 posted on 03/18/2011 11:35:45 AM PDT by skeeter
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To: ExtremeUnction

They have some big buildings there.
What are they sitting on?


10 posted on 03/18/2011 11:36:42 AM PDT by nascarnation
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To: ExtremeUnction

Well, not exactly. That part near GG Bridge is part of the Marina landfill which liquefied. However, further inland, the foundations are attached to original rocky land and there was little damage.


11 posted on 03/18/2011 11:37:52 AM PDT by Jim W N
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To: DTogo

Wow scary stuff....


12 posted on 03/18/2011 11:39:14 AM PDT by seeker41 (CULPRIT CHINESE COMPANY INFO.)
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To: DTogo

Wow. Those videos are frightening.


13 posted on 03/18/2011 11:40:01 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: DTogo

Nothing to see here folks. Keep moving....keep moving


14 posted on 03/18/2011 11:40:11 AM PDT by Wilderness Conservative
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To: DTogo

I had to look this up after reading about the quake in Christchurch...think “quicksand”...


15 posted on 03/18/2011 11:40:49 AM PDT by bigbob
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To: DTogo

How do you know it hasn’t been considered?


16 posted on 03/18/2011 11:42:24 AM PDT by Cuttnhorse (Obama; a skid mark on the undershorts of American history.)
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To: DTogo

Tokyo Disney is closed.
They will make a decision on when to reopen on Monday.


17 posted on 03/18/2011 11:43:45 AM PDT by kidd
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To: skeeter
Yikes. Tokyo has one hell of alot of landfill real estate.

Yes, with some of my family on top of it.

18 posted on 03/18/2011 11:44:28 AM PDT by DTogo (High time to bring back the Sons of Liberty !!)
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To: nascarnation

The phenomena is well known to foundation engineers. Buildings resting on properly designed and properly quantified pile foundations resist the liquefaction.

The slabs shown are apparently compressing the sand/soil and when the water is pressed out the slab falls. The fact that all or more indicates irregular or non homogeneous fill over the ares. The slabs likely have no piles under them


19 posted on 03/18/2011 11:44:49 AM PDT by bert (K.E. N.P. N.C. D.E. +12 ....( History is a process, not an event ))
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To: DTogo
The liquefaction of Japan is well recorded with video..
A LOT OF liquid surging thru those place(s)..

Tsunamis's are all about liquidfaction..
Those things liquefy villages, towns, even citys..
Like a blender or juicer..

20 posted on 03/18/2011 11:44:56 AM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole....)
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