ABSTRACT
Most parts of the world are prone to the occurrence of earthquakes, albeit to varying degrees. World history is replete with cases which bear testimony to the scale and intensity of devastation to life and property that seismic activity is capable of causing. However, historically, underground structures have experienced a relatively lower rate of damage than aboveground structures (Dowding and Rozen, 1978; Rowe, 1992). This suggests that, of the two types, the former are less vulnerable to damage by earthquakes than the latter. This could be due to the fact that, unlike aboveground structures, the underground structures are unlikely to distort to any significant extent independently of the displacement of the soil medium or be subjected to vibration amplification; although there is evidence (Hashash, 2001) to suggest, as will become clear later on, that under certain circumstances, the ground displacement can be amplified even due to the presence of the underground structure itself.
