Reconnaissance report on geotechnical effects and structural damage caused by the 3 January 2017 Tripura earthquake, India

Abstract

An earthquake of moment magnitude Mw 5.7 shook the northeastern region of India on 3 January 2017 at 14 h:39 min:0.5 s local time. The duration of the tremor lasted for about 5–6 s and had its epicenter in Dhalai District, Tripura, India. Even though the earthquake was of moderate magnitude, it caused damage to several masonry dwellings in Tripura and triggered soil liquefaction, lateral spreading, and landslides near the epicentral area. The sand boils containing appreciable amount of silts were ejected to the ground surface at the Kanchanbari and Kumarghat area due to the liquefaction-induced upward ground water flow. This is possibly the first liquefaction evidence in India induced due to a moderate earthquake magnitude of Mw 5.7. This paper reports the field reconnaissance observations of geotechnical effects and damage to buildings following a shallow, strike-slip earthquake in northeast India on 3 January 2017. In addition, the distribution of surface peak ground acceleration of the earthquake estimated from the empirical equations based on the available data is evaluated and discussed.