Introduction
structure and hence suitable for slope study (e.g.
Rainfall induced landslide is a common problem in the
hilly areas that pose a lot of hindrance to the day to
day communication and development of a region. They
are common in tropical and sub-tropical regions where
residual soils are present in the slope. In the state of
Assam, India which has a tropical monsoon rainforest
climate, it has caused untold loss of life and damages to
infrastructure. Thus there is a need to address this
problem and find out the triggering factors leading to
slope failure. The main factors which affect the stability
of the slope includes the geometry of the slope,
permeability of the soil, pore structure, magnitude and
intensity of rainfall, all of which directly or indirectly
affects the friction angle of the soil.
Rainfall induced landslide is very common in areas
where the friction angle of the soil is less than the
slope. Such slopes are stable only up to a certain limit
of water content of the soil particle due to suction
which increases the shear resistance of the soil
(Fredlund and Rahardio, 1993, Springman, 2003).
When the water content crosses the certain limit, the
effect of suction and shear resistance can no longer
hold the land mass and as such landslide occurs due to
a greater driving force.
Water logging after rainfall on the upper portion of the
slope is also one of the major reason of the
occurrences of landslide. As the rainwater enters into
the pores of the soil, it increases the pore water
pressure. With this, the buoyant force acting on the
probable failure landmass is increased and the normal
force acting on it is reduced. There is also an additional
hydraulic pressure acting on the block of landmass by
accumulated water on the top of the slope. All this
works together to become a causative factor of
landslide.
For the study of such landslide, geophysical methods
such as ERT are commonly used non-destructive ways
because they help in subsurface investigation and
characterization. They are less costly compared to
other methods of subsurface investigation like boring
works. Several researchers have used ERT for studying
depth of the failed landmass, areas containing moisture,
landslide morphology, etc. (e.g. Mahmut et. al, 2006,
Crawford et. al., 2015).
ERT is sensitive to the water content and the slope
Lebourg et.al, 2010). Different properties of the soil
including the geometry, physical properties and water
saturation zone can be studied using this method. It
also detects the consolidated and unconsolidated
geological units which might be have the potential for
future landslide.
Resistivity differences in the soil typically correspond
to changes in the lithological composition of subsurface
materials or the chemistry of pore fluids. The electrical
resistivity method employs a direct current (DC)
applied to a pair of electrodes in contact with the
ground; the voltage or electrical potential is measured
between a second pair of electrodes. Data is collected
by use of automated resistivity measurements, which
allow placement of multiple electrodes at equal spacing
along a survey line. Each electrode is connected to a
computer-controlled device that sequences electrical
pulses between selected combinations of electrode
configurations. The applied current, the resulting
voltage potentials, and the electrode geometry are
recorded by software. In general, the greater the
distance between electrodes, the greater the depth of
current penetration (Water-Resources Investigations
Report 02-4041, Rodney A. Sheets). Since soil is a
heterogeneous mixture of different soils like pebbles,
clays, gravels, silt, it gives different resistance to the
flow of current. The resistance are recorded and later
analyzed with special software which shows the area
under study in the form of graph where different zones
are shown with different color. A certain color is fixed
for a specific group of soil with a given resistance. Thus
the mapping of the underlying layers, contents of the
soil and upto what depth it extends, seepage path of
infiltrated water can be found out using ERT without
any destructive methods.
In this paper a detail Electrical Resistivity Tomography
(ERT) study was conducted in a landslide affected area
before the rainfall started in the month of February,
2018 located in the Silchar-Haflong road (named
Durbin Tilla) in the state of Assam, India. A 2D
Electrical Resistivity survey along a profile over a
landslide mass was carried out using Werner
configuration which yielded some important results
regarding the characteristic of the soil and geometry of
the profile which has been briefly discussed in the
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subsequent sections. Soil samples were collected from

various locations from the site and in order to create
the site situations in the laboratory, shear strength of
the soil samples is tested for various water content to
depict rainfall. An attempt is also made to identify a
potential failure surface and cross check the results
with the site conditions after rainy season to see if the
landslide has occurred as was predicted. The results
that are obtained is further used to find the factor of
safety of the slope.

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