New website offers peace of mind on liquefaction risk

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Due to the huge damage caused by liquefaction triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Architectural Institute of Japan has set up a website that allows the public some peace of mind on whether their homes are potential victims.

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Asahi Asia & Japan Watch
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By SUSUMU YOSHIDA / Staff Writer
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New website offers peace of mind on liquefaction risk
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Due to the huge damage caused by liquefaction triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Architectural Institute of Japan has set up a website that allows the public some peace of mind on whether their homes are potential victims.

"We hope it can be useful to people now facing problems or who are worried about whether they are vulnerable," said Masayuki Kohiyama, an associate professor of system design engineering at Keio University, who was involved in bringing together the website.

Liquefaction, which occurs when soil loses its strength and firmness and takes on a liquid form, occurred over a wide area as far as the Kanto region, even though the quake was centered off the Tohoku region.

The new website provides basic information on liquefaction damage and includes a wide range of topics, including what to keep in mind before building a home, measures that can be taken before liquefaction occurs as well as how to make repairs to damaged homes. The website also includes such useful information as the financing programs available to pay for rebuilding after natural disasters as well as the current legal restrictions and issues related to dealing with the damage.

For individuals looking into plots for their future homes, the website introduces ways to tell if a site is at risk for liquefaction. Prefectural governments have released maps that point out areas vulnerable to liquefaction. The website includes various items that have to be checked to determine the degree of possible danger of liquefaction.

The website encourages individuals to check into old topographical maps or flood records kept by municipal governments to determine which items apply. It also points to the importance of asking a number of current residents about what they know about the topography of the area.

The website also explains the characteristics and costs of the various available methods for foundation studies. Rather than rely only on the general method of checking the hardness of the ground by inserting a steel bar into the land, it also recommends taking soil samples for more detailed studies.

In the section on how to deal with a plot of land vulnerable to liquefaction as well as how to repair homes that have tilted after being damaged by liquefaction, a list is included that explains the main methods used and approximate costs.

The website was compiled by an organization within the AIJ that was established after reports surfaced of falsification of quake-proof structural data.

The Japanese website can be viewed at (http://news-sv.aij.or.jp/shien/s2/).

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