Dam Failure

Failure of dam across the Kern River following

the 1952 Kern County Earthquake

Dams are generally an

expensive structure that
directly affect the economy
of the area through power
generation, flood control and
water supply (reservoirs).
As the population of an area
grows, structural failure of a
large dam due to an
earthquake poses an
increasingly great danger for
residents exposed to sudden
flooding.

Van Norman Dam (Lower San Fernando Dam).

For a length of about 1,800 feet, the
embankment (including the parapet wall, dam
crest, most of the upstream slope, and a portion
of the downstream slope) slid into the reservoir.
A loss of about 30 feet of dam height resulted
when as much as 800,000 cubic yards of dam
embankment was displaced into the reservoir.
This material slid when liquefaction of the
hydraulic fill on the upstream side of the
embankment occurred. The dam was about half
full at the time. Eighty-thousand people living
downstream of the dam were immediately
ordered to evacuate, and steps were taken to
lower the water level in the reservoir as rapidly
as possible.

The Los Angeles Dam was constructed to replace the Van Norman Reservoir.
In the 1994 Northridge earthquake, some ground movement with minor
cracking seems to have occurred at the site. There was significant differential
settlement of the ground of about two inches in the northern section, and eight
inches in the southwestern section of the site.

Damage to Transportation
Systems

Collapsed Overpass Caused by 1971 San

Fernando, CA Earthquake

A serious result of a largemagnitude earthquake is

the disruption of
transportation systems,
which limits post- disaster
emergency response.
Movement of emergency
vehicles, such as police
cars, fire trucks and
ambulances, is often
severely restricted.

Damage to Fourth Ave. Anchorage by the 1964

Alaska Earthquake

Compression of Railroad Track by 1964 Alaska

Earthquake

Collapse of Spans on Bridge Due to 1976

Earthquake in Guatemala

Collapse of Freeway in 1989 Loma Prieta, CA

Earthquake

Freeway Compression Caused by 1971 San

Fernando, CA Earthquake

Collapse of Streets Caused by

Subsidence in 1985 Mexico City
Earthquake
Damage to San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
1989, Loma Prieta Earthquake

I-5 and SR-14 Freeway collapse North San

Fernando Valley Northridge Earthquake
1994

Failure of I-10 in Culver City, Northridge Earthquake

The 1952 Kern County Earthquake

(rupture seen above) caused serious
damage to railway systems and dams
(seen previously). Above right,
compression of the ground surface has
caused distortion of the railroad tracks.
In the lower right photo, ground
acceleration upwards was so great that
it lifted the side of the tunnel up and
dropped it on top of the rails to the
side.

Damage to Water, Gas and

Electrical Supplies
One generally takes the
utilities water, gas and
electrical for granted, and
assumes that they will
always be there. However,
all of these major lifelines
cross the San Andreas Fault
at some point into the
southern California area. In
the eventuality of a large
earthquake along the San
Andreas, these would be cut.

Bending of rails due to compression

of ground surface, Guatemalan
earthquake, 1976

The same is true for all

major freeways
systems and railways.
These must cross the
San Andreas at some
point. In case of a
major earthquake,
there is a strong
likelihood that these
would be broken.

Bridge destroyed during 1976

Guatemalan earthquake

Bridge destroyed by liquefaction Costa Rican earthquake, 1976

Imperial Valley earthquake, 1979,

water tower before (above) and
after (below) quake

Irrigation channels disrupted by 1976

Guatemalan earthquake