Imagining the sight of solid ground transforming into a gooey flowing liquid, while small geysers surge floods of sandy water to the surface – might seem like a fictional Hollywood movie special ...

Liquefaction is a phenomenon in which the strength and stiffness of a soil is reduced by earthquake shaking or other rapid loading. Liquefaction can cause major damage during an earthquake.

The earthquake caused muddy water to gush out of the ground around Takahashi Chikara's house in Awara City, Fukui Prefecture. The liquefaction made the 50-year-old house tilt and its windows will ...