A comprehensive study of the response of liquid storage tanks subjected to ground induced lateral excitations is presented. Wall flexibility affects the response coefficients of tall tanks significantly. In general, response coefficients for tanks are relatively insensitive to super-structure parameters. A simplified procedure for evaluating inertial interaction effects is considered. While foundation translation dominates the response of broad tanks, foundation rocking is important for tall tanks. Exact values and approximate expressions reveal that the effects of interaction are a function of the relative flexibilities of the medium and super-structure. Effects of ground motion incoherence are evaluated by formal stochastic and approximate semi-deterministic approaches. Kinematic interaction reduces the response of tanks. The reductions are generally small, particularly for tall tanks. Inertial interaction effects are generally substantially larger than corresponding kinematic interaction effects. Inertial interaction normally reduces the response of broad tanks, but can increase the response of tall tanks.