Computational Investigation of Soil Liquefaction Susceptibility based on Standard Penetration Test Value of Miri District (Sarawak, Malaysia)

Miri is a district of Sarawak state of Malaysia and is a coastal area located at the boundary of Brunei. This paper deciphers the analysis of liquefaction susceptibility of the Miri district. Standard penetration test with N values (SPT-N) empirical criteria has been used for evaluating the liquefaction susceptibility in the Miri district. The software LiquefyPro and LiqIT have been used for the analysis by using the Idriss and Boulanger approach as this methodology encompass a simple technique and calculation. This exploration utilized a seismic tremor record from another area well-matched from target response spectrum with comparative qualities of Sarawak earthquake acquired from the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) online database (PEER NGA) with a moment magnitude of 6.0 and peak ground acceleration as 0.15 g on the ground surface. The ground motions assigned for assessment are predominantly attentive on a good complete match for the target response spectrum and on actual earthquakes that might happen in Sarawak. Liquefaction potential index (LPI), the factor of safety (Fs) and the probability of liquefaction (PL) for each soil layer was determined and then summed up for each borehole and were used to plot the contour maps by utilizing the geographical information system (GIS). From the results, the overall area of Miri is not liquefiable, only a few sites have liquefaction index as high, moreover, the obtained results of this study by using the methodology of Idriss and Boulanger are reliable. The results of this study can be used in seismic microzonation

A Framework of Systematic Land Use Vulnerability Modeling Based on Seismic Microzonation : A Case Study of Miri District of Sarawak, Malaysia

The objective of this research is to develop the framework for sustainable land-use planning on the basis of seismic microzonation to reduce the devastating effects of future earthquakes by utilizing the software geographical information system (ArcGIS). Miri district of Sarawak in Malaysia has been chosen as the study area because of having the highest peak ground acceleration which is 0.09g in terms of the 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years. In addition, the frequency of an earthquake with a magnitude up to 5.3 is approximately every 5-7 years. Therefore, it is vital to introduce land use planning in order to diminish the adverse effects of earthquakes in the future. For this purpose, Google Earth Pro was used for the collection of satellite image data for land use planning purposes. From the results, it was found that the seismic hazard in the Miri district varies from low to high corresponding to 2475 years of return period with low to moderate as predominant over the Miri district. Only a few areas are under high hazard. Also, the land use planning map was compared with the current land use map acquired from satellite imagery and it was found that all built-up is in the low hazard area. It is envisaged that the findings from this research will contribute immensely to the literature that will serve as background information and a guide for analysts, disaster management, engineering designers and seismologists in Malaysia and the world as a whole