The study of seismic deformation of ground is an effective and intuitive way to analyze the influence of earthquake. The Tawarayama tunnel subjected to the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake in Kumamoto City in Japan was taken as an example to investigate the correlation between the seismic deformation of ground and the seismic damages of underground structures. Data of the ground surface above the Tawarayama tunnel before and after the earthquake were collected by the technology of airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR)

and digital elevation models were obtained from the LiDAR data. Combination and Classification Iteratively Closest Point algorithm was introduced to detect the deformation field of the ground. Based on the detected results

spatial comparison of the ground deformation with the seismic damages of Tawarayama tunnel was analyzed to find their correlation. Results show that strong ground horizontal motion can reflect the damage conditions of underground structures to some extent (such as failure of tunnel lining

pavement

or construction joints) when subject to earthquake force. Moreover

the direction of the ground horizontal deformation can provide an insight into the propagation direction of the seismic wave

such as excluding the influence of some special geological conditions (e.g.

fault). The finding can also be used to verify the failure mechanism of Tawarayama tunnel by seismic wave.