Abstract
Numerous incidents of ground failure from the 1994 Northridge earthquake caused thousands of pipe breaks and damaged many structures. In this article, significant occurrences of ground failure in the San Fernando Valley, Simi Valley, Santa Clara River area, central Los Angeles, and a number of coastal areas are described, and the likely culprit mechanisms are identified. Ground failure in many areas could be readily associated with liquefaction and/or seismically induced compaction of young alluvial soils or fill materials previously known to have a high ground failure susceptibility. However, ground failure also occurred in areas not previously thought to be susceptible to such hazards. Taken together, these incidents provide insight into a variety of ground failure phenomena that can affect urban areas during earthquakes.
