How do tunnels affect the surface infrastructure during an earthquake?

The development of underground infrastructures has led to a more complex underground space in the city zones. During an earthquake the spatial location of the underground and surface structures will determine the seismic behavior of both the structures above and below the ground. In this paper, we study the interaction between a tunnel, the surrounding soil and the surface structures, to try to answer the question of how tunnels affect surface structures during an earthquake. A three-dimensional model using the Finite Element Method (FEM) software Plaxis 3D, which includes a circular tunnel and nearby buildings at the soil surface, is built for this purpose. The model is subjected to an earthquake scenario based on corrected accelerogram of the Upland earthquake which occurred in 1990, in California, USA. The effect of the presence of the tunnel and its location on the surface structures during an earthquake is discussed by analyzing the accelerogram, amplification ratios, Fourier amplitude spectra, and frequency of the different scenarios.