MAGNITUDE-DISTANCE RELATIONS FOR LIQUEFACTION IN SOIL FROM EARTHQUAKES

The review of a large number of historical documents and scientific publications revealed that at least 30 cases of liquefaction in soil from earthquakes of M(s) = 5.8 to 7.2 have been observed in Greece since 1767. Liquefaction usually occurs in the epicentral area of earthquakes. However. maximum epicentral and fault distances, R(e) and R(f), generally increase with the earthquake magnitude, M, which is consistent with similar increase observed in other parts of the world. We propose equations approximating the limiting distances R(e) and R(f) as a function of M. By supplementing the Greek liquefaction data with a worldwide compilation of Ambraseys (1988) and using published observations for recent liquefaction cases in New Zealand, California, Venezuela, Iran, and the Philippines we also propose a slight modification of the M / R(e) and M / R(f) relations suggested by Ambraseys (1988).