DAMAGE OF BRIDGES DUE TO THE 2011 GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE

Abstract

This paper presents damage of bridges during the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. Since the bridges in the north Miyagi-ken and south Iwate-ken suffered extensive damage in the 1978 Miyagi-ken-oki earthquake, damage of bridges in the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake is evaluated in comparison with the damage in the 1978 Miyagi-ken-oki earthquake so that effect of the recent progress of seismic design can be evaluated. Tsunami-induced damage was extensive for bridges along the Pacific Coast. Typical feature of tsunami-induced damage is presented based on a field investigation and video movies.