Effects of the Deformation and Liquefaction of Soils in the Settlement of Korf during the Olyutor Earthquake on April 21, 2006

On April 21, 2006 an earthquake with a magnitude of M _s = 7.7 named Olyutor struck the Koryak Autonomous Region. It was the strongest earthquake for the entire period of historical and instrumental observations. The coordinates of the epicenter were 60.91° N, 166.98° E; the hypocenter’s depth was 12 km. For the efficient study of the earthquake, a team of scientists of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) was sent to the epicentral area. The article presents the results of studies of soil liquefaction in the settlement of Korf, which was the most affected during the Olyutor earthquake. The intensity of the earthquake in the settlement was 9 points. Numerous cracks in the soil were observed, sand volcanoes were formed, and there were numerous cases of sand and silt eruptions, subsidence, and flooding in the settlement. It was decided that the settlement was unfit for human habitation.