Although the effects of liquefaction have been long understood , engineers took more notice after the 1964 Niigata earthquake and 1964 Alaska earthquake . It was a major factor in the destruction in San Francisco 's Marina District during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake , and in Port of Kobe during the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake . More recently liquefaction was largely responsible for extensive damage to residential properties in the eastern suburbs and satellite townships of Christchurch , New Zealand during the 2010 Canterbury earthquake and more extensively again following the Christchurch earthquakes that followed in early and mid-2011 . On 28 September 2018 , an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude hit the Central Sulawesi province of Indonesia . Resulting soil liquefaction buried the suburb of Balaroa and Petobo village in 3 meters deep mud . The government of Indonesia is considering designating the two neighborhoods of Balaroa and Petobo , that have been totally buried under mud , as mass graves
1995 Great Hanshin earthquake
Great Hanshin earthquake
Soil liquefaction