Liquefaction Due to September 30th 2009 Earthquake in Padang

AbstractThe liquefaction potential in Padang based on the observation and examination is described in this paper. The last 7.6 RS earthquake of 30 September 2009 has caused damage to houses, water facilities and road ways. Several damages of those are worsened by the soil liquefaction. The liquefaction in Padang was identified by numerous sand boils. The liquefaction was observed at a number of sites including roadway, river bank and play grounds. The samples of sand boils are then tested in the laboratory in the terms of soil grain size distributions. It is found that the fine-sand grains of the soil samples are more than 65%. These types of soils satisfy the criteria of liquefaction susceptibility. Based on the field soil test data, the liquefaction potential is also examined. For the future development of Padang city, it is suggested to make liquefaction resistant constructions on liquefaction susceptible soils that have the same criteria to the observed soils. By characterizing the soil distributions and doing the in situ shear test on a particular site, one can assess the liquefaction susceptibility and decide to make the structures to resist the effects of liquefaction