Obviously such slides are extremely damaging both to any structures on the slide area or in the path of the slide. Where such sand boils occur, there can be excessive settlements of facilities. There may also be large differential horizontal movements between only slightly distant points on the surface, resulting in damage to highway, pipelines, and so on. Liquefaction has been observed repeatedly during earthquakes in California, but it has also been observed elsewhere. An enormous area was affected by massive liquefactions during the 1811-1812 New Madrid, Missouri earthquakes, and the phenomenon was very evident during the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina earthquake.
Liquefaction is a potential problem in any area where a loss estimation is being made.
These were prepared using expert opinion, and are generally applicable throughout the United States. The specific relations suggested in this paper are derived from experiences in California, and cannot be extrapolated directly to other parts of the country. The same ATC-13 report also gives damage ratios for the losses to buildings affected by liquefaction. These clearly are engineering judgments, but they do provide some guidance. Combining this damage information with maps of liquefaction susceptible areas and estimations of extent and severity of liquefaction provides property loss estimates from these collateral hazards.