Relief supplies

Liquefaction caused fill to settle. Sand and water erupted and splashed

against the top of this 9ft high container. (Source: Ibid)

The bridges and various quays (Hyogo No 3, Shinko No 8 east, Maya No 1) were cleared to receive emergency supplies within days of the disaster. The immedi­ate goal is to recommission the lesser-dam aged berths within six months and restore the city and port fully within 2-3 years. Gen­erally speaking the facilities on Rokko Island sustained less dam­age than those on the earlier Port Island or the Maya Terminal (the infilled Maya Piers on the main­land converted to a common user container terminal). Rokko was provided with better sand stabilisation than Port Island and therefore sustained less liquefac­tion damage.

According to a report by Liftech Consultants Inc, which was hired by APL to assess dam­age to its terminal on Port Island, the entire interior of Fort Island settled due to liquefaction of the underlying fill. The failure of the caisson wall foundation appears to be due to pressure from the liq­uefaction of the fill material be­hind the caisson and lateral seis­mic forces. Pending further inves­tigations, adds Liftech, it is not clear whether the caissons rotated due to stress failure in, or lique­faction of, the underlying fill.