A scary thing that happened in New Zealand is that if the soil has a high water content it can liquify in a strong quake.
Yes - liquefaction can happen almost anywhere strong quakes and moist soils combine. Sedimentary soils are bad, as are sandy-type soils. Just one example:
http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/images/liquefaction/liqn_phils.pdf
Note that many Philippine cities are in such areas.
Anyone who’s walked along a sandy or muddy creek or river bed for very far has probably found areas that even without shaking, seem solid enough until you try to traverse them.
Much of the mid-Mississippi valley in the U.S. is at high risk as well.
Much of Port Royal, Jamaica was destroyed in 1692 when liquefaction caused by an earthquake made entire neighborhoods submerge and disappear.