The Loma Prieta, California, earthquake of October 17, 1989: Liquefaction

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake both reconfirmed the vulnerability of areas in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay region to liquefaction and provided an opportunity to test methodologies for predicting liquefaction that have been developed since the mid-1970's. This vulnerability is documented in the chapter edited by O'Rourke and by the investigators in this chapter who describe case histories of liquefaction damage and warn us about the potential for even greater damage from liquefaction if an earthquake similar to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but located closer to their study sites, were to occur.