Soil Liquefaction Occurs Inland – Damage in Abiko
In a recent post, I introduced some information about the use of sand compaction piling at Tokyo Disneyland, and how it protected the theme park from soil liquefaction that damaged neighboring areas in Urayasu city.
Here’s a report from FTV about another area of Chiba prefecture that suffered considerable soil liquefaction. Surprisingly, the damage was not to a coastal area. It took place in Abiko, a city 30 kilometers inland from Urayasu:
The liquefaction in Abiko has rendered over 100 homes uninhabitable, compared to just 8 in Urayasu. The liquefaction of the ground caused buildings to tilt or sink into the soil.
Abiko’s damage was mostly confined to one neighborhood. Aerial photographs from 62 years ago show that the area was once a pond/marsh. About 50 years ago, the area was filled in with soil and houses were built there.
The local government had produced a liquefaction danger map, but the neighborhood was not identified as a risk area. It seems that local bureaucrats were totally unaware that the area was reclaimed land.
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