Geotechnical Lessons Learned from Mexico and Other Recent Earthquakes

This paper describes the most relevant effects of the September 1985 earthquakes on Mexico City. It discusses the results of recent exploration and research on regional geology, local site conditions and site response analyses, basic soil properties, and observation of actual behavior of soil-foundation-structure systems. The paper shows the impact of these investigations upon new - building code requirements, on general design practice and on the specialist\u27s perception of earthquake behavior of Mexico City\u27s subsoil. Recent earthquakes recorded in and around Mexico City have contributed insight into some of the unresolved questions left after the experience of 1985. Damaging earthquakes recorded in other cities in the near past are brought into the discussion. The latter events furnish- by means of the examples of San Salvador in 1986, Armenia in 1988 and San Francisco in 1989 - more general view of the influence of local subsoil conditions on site response