What is a Slope Failure?

Increasing number of slope failures occurring in recent years

A slope failure is a phenomenon that a slope collapses

abruptly due to weakened self-retainability of the earth
under the influence of a rainfall or an earthquake.
Because of sudden collapse of slope, many people fail to
escape from it if it occurs near a residential area, thus
resulting in a higher rate of fatalities.

Slope failure due to torrential rainfall of the Bai-u front (Minamata City,
Kumamoto Prefecture, July 1997).

Preventive measures against slope failures

Retaining wall works

Concrete retaining walls are built on the lower
part of a slope to directly suppress a collapse of
Gravity retaining wall work
that part and also to check coming-down col-
lapsed soil and stop it before houses.

Leaning wall work Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, February

1999

Slope failure due to torrential rainfall of the Bai-u

front (Hanakura Area, Kagoshima City,
Kagoshima Prefecture August 6, 1993). Slope failure in Uenoyama Area in Kozushima Village
(July 2000, Kozushima Village, Tokyo)

Catch wall work

Soldier piles and lagging works

Steel piles are driven into a slope to restrain the
Anchor work
collapse of the surface soil layer. Lagging is
placed between piles to prevent downward
Cast-in-place concrete crib work movement of eroded soil. This construction
method can be applied not to destroy existing
vegetation.
Slope failure prevention
works for safe living
Slope failure prevention works have focused on
slopes highly vulnerable to disasters where there are
signs of a possible slope failure and where there is a
fear of re-occurrence of a slope failure in a once-
disaster-stricken area.
Immediately after a slope failure disaster (Kagoshima
City, Kagoshima Prefecture, July 1986)

Soldier piles and lagging works

Grating crib works

Concrete frames are laid on a slope, within which plants grow to protect
the slope from weathering and erosion. It is also possible to directly sup-
press slope collapse by using the frames in combination with ground
anchors, etc., or to allow trees remaining on the slope to be retained by
adjusting the arrangement of the frames.
Several years after the completion of the works Immediately after the completion of the works

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