Sponsored by the Infrastructure Resilience Division of ASCE

In 2011, the Tohoku and Sendai regions on the east coast of Japan were devastated by the largest earthquake ever recorded in that country. The effects of the earthquake were immediately compounded by a massive tsunami that claimed thousands of lives, destroyed cities and towns, and severely damaged lifeline infrastructure. This report describes in detail the performance of lifeline systems in Tokyo, Tohoku, Sendai, and surrounding areas, as observed during multiple visits by an Earthquake Investigation Committee sent by ASCE’s Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering (TCLEE).

This TCLEE monograph discusses the following lifelines with recommendations for improving performance: transportation, electric power systems, telecommunications, airports, ports and harbors, water, wastewater, and gas and liquid fuel. General seismology of the event and geotechnical features of the area are described. Other relevant issues, such as debris management, effect on hospitals, fire following the earthquakes, emergency response, social impact, and lifeline interdependence, are considered.

TCLEE 42 will be of interest to civil engineers, emergency managers and planners, and government officials charged with improving resilience of lifeline infrastructure systems during earthquakes and tsunamis.