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' Proposed James Monroe Elementary School Replacement Subsurface Exploration, Geologic Hazards, andRevised Geotecltnical Engineering Report <br /> Everett, Washington Geologic Hazards and Mitigations <br /> 6.1 Surficial Ground Rupture <br /> ' Generally, the largest earthquakes that have occurred in the Puget Sound area are sub-crustal <br /> events with epicenters ranging from 50 to 70 kilometers in depth. Earthquakes that are <br /> generated at such depths usually do not result in fault rupture at the ground surface. However <br /> ' current research indicates that surficial ground rupture is possible in the South Whidbey Island <br /> Fault Zone. The South Whidbey Island Fault Zone is not thoroughly mapped or well <br /> understood. We are not aware of detailed maps of active faults in the project area. The best <br /> available mapping depicts multiple traces of the South Whidbey Island Fault, all oriented <br /> northwest-southeast and passing no closer than approximately one mile to the south of the site. <br /> We are available to discuss current research related to surface faulting in the project area. <br /> 6.2 Seismically Induced Landslides <br /> In our opinion, the risk of seismically induced landslides at this site is low due to the moderate <br /> inclination of site slopes and the presence of relatively dense soils at shallow depths. <br /> ' 6.3 Liquefaction <br /> Liquefaction is a process through which unconsolidated soil loses strength as a result of <br /> vibrations, such as those which occur during a seismic event. During normal conditions, the <br /> weight of the soil is supported by both grain-to-grain contacts and by the fluid pressure within <br /> the pore spaces of the soil below the water table. Extreme vibratory shaking can disrupt the <br /> grain-to-grain contact, increase the pore pressure, and result in a temporary decrease in soil <br /> shear strength. The soil is said to be liquefied when nearly all of the weight of the soil is <br /> supported by pore pressure alone. Liquefaction can result in deformation of the sediment and <br /> settlement of overlying structures. Areas most susceptible to liquefaction include those areas <br /> underlain by non-cohesive silt and sand with low relative densities, accompanied by a shallow <br /> water table. <br /> ' The site is underlain by lodgement till that is very dense and not saturated. The liquefaction <br /> potential of the site is therefore low, in our opinion. We did not complete a detailed <br /> ' liquefaction analysis, and none is warranted, in our opinion. <br /> 6.4 Ground Motion <br /> ' Structural design of buildings should follow the current applicable building code. The <br /> applicable code at the time this report was written is the 2006 International Building Code <br /> ' (IBC). The site soils are consistent with 2006 IBC Site Class "C". The 2006 IBC seismic <br /> design parameters for short period (Ss) and 1-second period (Si) spectral acceleration values <br /> were determined by the latitude and longitude of the project site using the U.S. Geological <br /> Survey (USGS) software utility Seismic Hazard Curves and Uniform Response Spectra. The <br /> IJSGS software interpolated ground motions at the project site as follows for periods of 0.2 and <br /> October 5, 2009 ASSOCIATED EARTH SCIENCES, INC_ <br /> DWG/Id-KE090.312A.3-Projeccs1200903121KEIWP Page 7 <br /> 1 <br />