Liquefaction of Reclaimed Land at Wellington Port in the 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake

In the 2016 M(w)7.8 Kaikoura (New Zealand) earthquake, widespread liquefaction occurred in the reclaimed land of CentrePort, Wellington, in end-tipped gravelly fills and hydraulically-placed sandy fills. The liquefaction resulted in global (mass) settlement of the reclamations and lateral spreading, which was particularly pronounced along the edges of the reclamation. The large settlements and spreading-induced movements affected container terminals, wharves, and buildings constructed on deep and shallow foundations. There are several interesting aspects of this important case history including the performance of reclamations of different soils (gravelly soils and sandy soils), reclamations of different age (from 40 years to over 100 years) and methods of construction (end-tipping and hydraulic placement), wharves subjected to spreading of liquefied fills, and buildings on deep and shallow foundations affected by liquefaction-induced settlement or/ and lateral spreading. The paper combines detailed observations from damage inspections, results from comprehensive CPT investigations, respective analyses, and interpretation to emphasize key aspects of this important case study on the liquefaction of gravelly soils.