This document discusses damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco. It includes several photos showing: 1) a 4-story building damaged by weak first story failure due to reduced shear wall strength and lack of bracing; 2) wreckage of downtown buildings; 3) soil liquefaction causing uneven settlement and tilting of apartment buildings in Niigata, Japan. The document continues with additional photos of earthquake damage from the 1989 earthquake and other large quakes.

1. “Soft” or weak first story failure of a four-story building in San Francisco damaged by the October, 1989
Loma Prieta earthquake. In this case the weak story is caused by reduced shear wall strength and lack of
diagonal bracing related to constructing parking garages (note garage doors) in the first story of the building.

4. Wreckage of The Emporium and James Flood Building on Market Street.
This photograph shows the wreckage of the Emporium Building on the left, and the James Flood Building
at Market and Powell streets.

5. Liquefaction-Differential Settlements
Aerial view of leaning apartment houses in Niigata produced by soil liquefaction and the behavior of poor
foundations. Most of the damage was caused by cracking and unequal settlement of the ground such as is
shown here. About 1/3 of the city subsided by as much as 2 meters as a result of sand compaction. Photo Credit:
National Geophysical Data Center

6. Aerial view of roadbed collapse near the interface of the cantilT truss sections of the San Francisco-
Oakland Bay Bridge. View northwestward. [C.E. Meyer, U.S. Geological Survey]

7. Sand boil or sand volcano measuring 2 m (6.6 ft) in length erupted in median of Interstate Highway 80 west
of the Bay Bridge toll plaza when ground shaking transformed loose water-saturated deposit of subsurface
sand into a sand-water slurry (liquefaction). Vented sand contains marine-shell fragments. [J.C. Tinsley, U.S.
Geological Survey]

8. House moved laterally off cement foundation. [J.K. Nakata, U.S. Geological Survey]

9. Cars crushed by collapsing brick facade near Fifth and Townsend Streets. At this locality, five people were
killed while leaving from work. [C.E. Meyer, U.S. Geological Survey]

10. Ground view of collapsed building and burned area shown in photo 4, Beach and Divisadero, Marina District. [C.E. Meyer, U.S.
Geological Survey]

11. Entrance and garage level of a Beach Street apartment complex in danger of collapse, Marina District.
[C.E. Meyer, U.S. Geological Survey]

12. An automobile lies crushed under the third story of this apartment building in the Marina District. The ground levels are no
longer visible because of structural failure and sinking due to liquefaction. [J.K. Nakata, U.S. Geological Survey]

13. Drain grating shows the effects of lateral compression. [R.A. Haugerud, U.S. Geological Survey]

14. Downtown sidewalk buckled due to compression. [J.K. Nakata, U.S. Geological Survey]

15. Side view of support-column failure and collapsed upper deck, Cypress viaduct. [H.G. Wilshire, U.S. Geological Survey]

16. Support-column failure and collapsed upper deck, Cypress viaduct. [H.G. Wilshire, U.S. Geological Survey]

17. Aerial view of collapsed sections of the Cypress viaduct of Interstate Highway 880. [H.G. Wilshire, U.S. Geological
Survey]

18. Aerial view of slide at Daly City. This is the largest slide triggered by the earthquake in San Mateo County,
displacing approximately 36,700 cubic meters (48,000 cubic yards) of material. The base is about 152 m (500 ft)
across at its widest point. [S.D. Ellen, U.S. Geological Survey]

19. KGO radio transmission towers, built on bay mud in a salt-evaporation pond used by the Leslie Salt Company.
Note progressively less damage to towers away from viewer. [H.G. Wilshire, U.S. Geological Survey]

21. The cement retaining walls along Highway 280 deformed in accordion-like pattern as a result of lateral
compression. [J.K. Nakata, U.S. Geological Survey]

22. Crack system with 1.2 m (4 ft) of vertical displacement across a clay tennis court; fracture passes
across retaining wall and up slope beyond view. West of Summit Road, southeast of Highway 17.
[H.G. Wilshire, U.S. Geological Survey]

23. A crack system destroys driveway adjacent to summit road 0.8 km (1/2 mi) southeast of Highway 17.
[J.K. Nakata, U.S. Geological Survey]

24. Construction on fill and the absence of adequate shear walls ccontributed to the failure of this structure. [J.K.
Nakata, U.S. Geological Survey]

25. House torn off its foundation by the main shock. [J.K. Nakata, U.S. Geological Survey]

26. Collapsed outer wall of the Medico Dental Building, Pacific Garden Mall, Santa Cruz. [J.K. Nakata,
U.S. Geological Survey]

27. Liquefaction in recent deposits of the Pajaro River formed these sand volcanoes along extensional fissures in a
field prepared for autumn planting near Pajaro, across the Pajaro River from Watsonville. Furrows are spaced
about 1.2 meters (4 feet) apart. [J.C. Tinsley, U.S. Geological Survey]

28. This Building is typical of a Japanese Style home. They have very heavy roofs made with
clay tiles (designed to resist the frequent typhoons). Due to the general lack of space in
Japan, it is common for the houses to start on a second floor with space underneath to park a
car in. This type of lower storey proves to be less stiff and this, together with the heavy roof,
often causes the lower storey to collapse during an earthquake. (Kobe, Japan, 1995)

29. The Timber houses that are simply covered in a form of plaster are rigid and heavy and so are prone
to numerous types of failure and collapse. There are additionallly often built on stilts which causes
the problem of stiffness differences (Kobe, Japan, 1995)

30. In the above, the left hand column on the bottom floor has failed. This has led to the collapse of the whole
building, and the annex behind. The failure has most likely occurred this way because of different
stiffness ratios between the bottom and next layers. (Kobe, Japan, 1995)

31. Large sections of the main Hanshin Expressway toppled over. This was particularly likely
where the road crossed areas of softer, wetter ground, where the shaking was stronger and
lasted longer. (Kobe, Japan, 1995)

33. Buildings founded on liquefied ground will lean or topple. (Kobe, Japan, 1995)

34. One of the more famous pictures of the destruction done by the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake.
This photo shows evidence of subsidence at Government Hill School, Anchorage. (slumping)

35. The six-story Four Seasons apartment building in Anchorage was completely destroyed. (Anchorage,
Alaska, 1964)

36. Uplifted sea floor at Cape Cleare, Montague Island, Prince William Sound, in the area of greatest recorded
tectonic uplift on land (33 feet). The very gently slopping flat rocky surface with the white coating which
lies between the cliffs and the water is about a quarter of a mile wide. It is a wave cut surface that was
below sea level before the earthquake. The white coating consists of the remains of calcareous marine
organisms that were killed by desiccation when the wave cut surface was lifted above the high tide during
the earthquake. (Anchorage, Alaska, 1964)

37. The stumps in the foreground are part of an ancient forest on Latouche island, Prince William
Sound, that was submerged below sea level and buried in prehistoric times. Tectonic uplift of 9
feet during the earthquake raised these stumps above sea level once again, demonstrating that
the area is tectonically restless.

38. Close-up view of tsunami damage along the waterfront at Kodiak.

39. Collapse of Fourth Avenue near C Street, Anchorage, due to earthquake caused landslide. Before
the earthquake, the sidewalk at left, which is in the graben, was at street level on the right. The
graben subsides 11 feet in response to 14 feet of horizontal movement. Anchorage district, Cook
Inlet region, Alaska. 1964.

40. Photographs of the 1960 Tsunami Destruction at Hilo (ITIC archives) (Chile
Earthquake, 1960, M 9.5)

41. On May 22, 1960, at 19:11 GMT, a large destructive earthquake off the coast
of South Central Chile along the Peru-Chile Trench, generated one of the the
most destructive tsunamis to hit Hawaii and the rest of the Pacific in this
century. The earthquake itself was the largest in this century for the southern
hemisphere. Its surface-wave magnitude was 8.6 with an epicenter at 39.5° S,
74.5° W, and a focal depth at 33 km. The earthquake and the tsunami were
extremely destructive in Chile, particularly in the coastal area extending from
Concepcion to the south end of Isla Chiloe. At the coastal area closest to the
epicenter, huge tsunami waves measuring as high as 25 meters, arrived
within 10 to 15 minutes after the earthquake, killing at least two hundred
people, sinking all the boats, and inundating half a kilometer inland. The
total number of lives lost from the tsunami along the coast Peru-Chile coast
is not known with accuracy but estimates range anywhere from 330 to 2000
people.

42. Photographs of the 1960 Tsunami Destruction at Hilo (ITIC archives) (Chile Earthquake, 1960,
M 9.5)

43. The Pacific-wide tsunami triggered by this
earthquake, raced across the ocean causing extensive
destruction along its path, particularly in Hawaii and
in Japan. The number of fatalities attributed to both
the tsunami and the earthquake have been estimated
to be between 490 to 2,290. Damage costs were
estimated at over half billion dollars.

44. Photographs of the 1960 Tsunami Destruction at Hilo (ITIC archives) (Chile Earthquake, 1960,
M 9.5)

45. The 1960 tsunami was extremely devastating at Hilo advancing far inland
through the entire present downtown area. A total of 61 people lost their lives
and about 540 homes and businesses were destroyed or severely damaged.
Damage was estimated at $24 million (in 1960 dollars). The first tsunami wave
in Hawaii, traveled a distance of 10,000 kilometers from the area of generation
and arrived at the town of Hilo , 14.8 hours after the earthquake. Subsequently,
seven more large waves arrived at Hilo in 12 to 20 minute intervals. The
maximum tsunami wave at Hilo was 10.7 meters (about 35 feet) high, . The
aerial photograph below taken by the U.S. Navy , depicts the extent of
destruction at downtown Hilo following the passing of the tsunami. The force
of debris-carrying tsunami waves showing bent parking meters in downtown
Hilo, is illustrated with the photos below taken by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers.
Elsewhere in the United States, tsunami waves of up to 1.7 meters were
observed at Crescent City, California, with minor damage reported. The tsunami
travel time of the first wave to arrive at Crescent City was 15.5 hours after the
occurrence of the Chilean earthquake.