When this earthquake hit, that ground became soft,and almost liquified. So, you've...
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When this earthquake hit, that ground became soft,
and almost liquified. So, you've suddenly got
these deep supporting piles moving around
all over the place. [narrator] Engineers now know that the soft ground
around the piles amplified the shock waves. A phenomenon which
would not occur on solid rock. The pile foundations had lost
the tension that they need to hold the bridge in place, and it was just shaking
itself apart. [narrator] Yet the disaster
was mitigated by one
stroke of luck. [Bart] One piece of Pier E9. It's about 76 feet wide,
about 50 feet long, the weight of that landed
on the lower deck and that unhinged
the lower deck section
and almost liquified. So, you've suddenly got
these deep supporting piles moving around
all over the place. [narrator] Engineers now know that the soft ground
around the piles amplified the shock waves. A phenomenon which
would not occur on solid rock. The pile foundations had lost
the tension that they need to hold the bridge in place, and it was just shaking
itself apart. [narrator] Yet the disaster
was mitigated by one
stroke of luck. [Bart] One piece of Pier E9. It's about 76 feet wide,
about 50 feet long, the weight of that landed
on the lower deck and that unhinged
the lower deck section
Full Transcript
00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:02.533
When this earthquake hit,
00:00:02.599 --> 00:00:05.133
that ground became soft,
and almost liquified.
00:00:05.002 --> 00:00:08.002
So, you've suddenly got
these deep supporting piles
00:00:08.002 --> 00:00:10.003
moving around
all over the place.
00:00:11.009 --> 00:00:13.002
[narrator] Engineers now know
00:00:13.002 --> 00:00:15.002
that the soft ground
around the piles
00:00:15.002 --> 00:00:17.533
amplified the shock waves.
00:00:17.599 --> 00:00:20.009
A phenomenon which
would not occur on solid rock.
00:00:22.003 --> 00:00:25.009
The pile foundations had lost
the tension that they need
00:00:25.009 --> 00:00:27.001
to hold the bridge in place,
00:00:27.001 --> 00:00:29.699
and it was just shaking
itself apart.
00:00:29.699 --> 00:00:33.233
[narrator] Yet the disaster
was mitigated by one
stroke of luck.
00:00:34.003 --> 00:00:36.533
[Bart] One piece of Pier E9.
00:00:36.599 --> 00:00:40.333
It's about 76 feet wide,
about 50 feet long,
00:00:40.004 --> 00:00:42.333
the weight of that landed
on the lower deck
00:00:42.004 --> 00:00:45.001
and that unhinged
the lower deck section.
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Movie Summary
With access to all phases of design and a large cast of experts, some of the great failures of engineering history are uncovered.
![[narrator] But the lopsided
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on a massive scale. - Engineering Catastrophes](https://clip.cafe/img400/narrator-sudden-destructio-on-a-massive-scale.jpg)
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a shocking tragedy - Engineering Catastrophes](https://clip.cafe/img400/narrator-and-a-shocking-tragedy.jpg)
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