The Loma Prieta, California, earthquake of October, 17, 1989: Marina District
Professional Paper
1551-F
Prepared in cooperation with the National Science Foundation
By: Thomas D. O'Rourke, M. G. Bonilla, John Boatwright, Linda C. Seekins, Thomas E. Fumal, Hsi-Ping Liu, Charles S. Mueller, Richard E. Warrick, Robert E. Westerlund, Eugene D. Sembera, Leif Wennerberg, Harry E. Stewart, Ashraf K. Hussein, J. #NAME? Bardet, M. Kapuskar, G. R. Martin, J. Proubet, H. T. Taylor, J.T. Cameron, S. Vahdani, H. Yap, Jonathan W. Pease, Stephen K. Harris, John A. Egan, Charles R. Scawthorn, Keith A. Porter, and Frank T. Blackburn
Edited by: Thomas D. O'Rourke
Links
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Abstract
During the earthquake, a total land area of about 4,300 km2 was shaken with seismic intensities that can cause significant damage to structures. The area of the Marina District of San Francisco is only 4.0 km2--less than 0.1 percent of the area most strongly affected by the earthquake--but its significance with respect to engineering, seismology, and planning far outstrips its proportion of shaken terrain and makes it a centerpiece for lessons learned from the earthquake.
The Marina District provides perhaps the most comprehensive case history of seismic effects at a specific site developed for any earthquake. The reports assembled in this chapter, which provide an account of these seismic effects, constitute a unique collection of studies on site, as well as infrastructure and societal, response that cover virtually all aspects of the earthquake, ranging from incoming ground waves to the outgoing airwaves used for emergency communication.
The Marina District encompasses the area bounded by San Francisco Bay on the north, the Presidio on the west, and Lombard Street and Van Ness Avenue on the south and east, respectively. Nearly all of the earthquake damage in the Marina District, however, occurred within a considerably smaller area of about 0.75 km2, bounded by San Francisco Bay and Baker, Chestnut, and Buchanan Streets.
At least five major aspects of earthquake response in the Marina District are covered by the reports in this chapter: (1) dynamic site response, (2) soil liquefaction, (3) lifeline performance, (4) building performance, and (5) emergency services.
Suggested Citation
O'Rourke, T., Bonilla, M.G., Boatwright, J., Seekins, L.C., Fumal, T.E., Liu, H., Mueller, C.S., Warrick, R.E., Westerlund, R.E., Sembera, E.D., Wennerberg, L., Stewart, H.E., Hussein, A.K., Bardet, J.#., Kapuskar, M., Martin, G.R., Proubet, J., Taylor, H.T., Cameron, J., Vahdani, S., Yap, H., Pease, J.W., Harris, S.K., Egan, J.A., Scawthorn, C.R., Porter, K.A., Blackburn, F.T., 1992, The Loma Prieta, California, earthquake of October, 17, 1989: Marina District: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1551, v, 215 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1551F.
ISSN: 2330-7102 (online)
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | The Loma Prieta, California, earthquake of October, 17, 1989: Marina District |
| Series title | Professional Paper |
| Series number | 1551 |
| Chapter | F |
| DOI | 10.3133/pp1551F |
| Year Published | 1992 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center |
| Description | v, 215 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| City | San Francisco |
| Other Geospatial | Marina district |