Abstract
　The Nihonkai Chubu Earthquake of May 26, l983 caused severe damage to dwelling houses in Akita and Aomori Prefectures. Especially in Oga, Wakami Hachiryu, Noshiro, Ajigasawa and Shariki, l407 houses were totally damaged and 2622 houses half damaged. Severe damage of the houses was caused by liquefaction of saturated loose sand layers. Within two year after the earthquake, a large number of borings, standard penetration tests and soil tests were carried out in order to clarify the causes for the damage to housing sites in the six areas.
　Discussions on the effects of subground conditions, that is, geological and topographical conditions, susceptibility of the subground to liquefaction and seismic stability of the foundation are presented in this paper.

*東北工業大学工学部土木工学科
Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku Inst. of Technology