EARTHQUAKE- INDUCED LANDSLIDE

Earthquake Induced Landslide

Subsidence or lowering of the ground surface, often occurs during earthquakes. This may be due to downward
vertical displacement on one side of a fault and can sometimes affect a large area of land. Coastal area can become
permanently flooded as a result subsidence can also occur as ground shaking causes loose sediments to settle and to
lose their load bearing strength or to slump down sloping grounds.
Why land slide Occur
1. Removal of Support – is the base of slope which may be due to erosion at the toe of a slope by rivers or
ocean waves. That is why landslides may occur even on a hot summer day.
2. Groundwater- (pore water) pressure- During sudden changes in the water level of bodies of water
adjacent to a slope also acts to destabilize it.
3. Volcanic eruptions- Bulging of slopes and the force of volcanic material ejection or emission may also
contribute to slope instability.
4. Intense rainfall- landslide are triggered due to the weakening of the slope material by water saturation.
5. Snowmelt – is also known to have the same effect as in saturating slope material.
6. Human interventions- man contributes to the instability of slopes through construction activities (roads,
buildings, and other facilities) quarrying /mining ,and unabated logging and kaingin which lead to the loss
of deeply rooting trees and soil cohesiveness.
7. Earthquake- Slopes are prone to widespread failure during earthquake because of the sudden shaking of
hilly and mountainous areas. What a prolonged period of rainfall cannot do to slopes is accomplished by a
strong earthquake that may last only less than a minute.
Types of Landslide
Landslide detach, transport, and deposit earth materials such as solid or loose rocks and soil. Aside from
the earthquake, landslides may be triggered by a variety of natural events and mans activities. The types
of landslide based on movement are :Toople, fall, slide (rotational and translational), spred, flow and
complex slide. The more specific types of landslide considering both the type of movement and the
material involved.
1. Topples -Occur suddenly when a massive part of very steep slopes breaks loose and rotate forward.
2. Rock Fall- involve chunks of detached rock that fall freely for some distance or bounce and roll down the
steep slope.
3. Slides- involves large blocks of bedrock that break free and slide down along a planar or curved surface.
4. Lateral Spread -are triggered by earthquake and affects gentle slopes with less than 10 degrees inclination.
Slope material loses cohesion through liquefaction caused by the shaking during earthquakes.
5. Flows -involve downslopes motion of fine-grained clay, silt, and fine sand made mobile by water
saturation. These flows include mudflows and earthflows and are common during the rainy seasons.
6. Complex Slide – are combination of two or more types of movement.
Factors Affecting the occurrence of Landslide:
For a real world landslide to occur, the downslope component of the force acting on a rock mass must overcome the
shearing strength of the material and cause it to separate from adjoining stationary rock before moving downslope.
When a slide occur, either the force acting on the material increased or the sheering resistance of the material was
lowered. Landslide are common during earthquake because both of these conditions are induced by ground shaking.
Depending on the type of slope material, the steepness of the slope and strength related properties of materials
involved. The Properties of Rocks that contribute to total Resistance to Shearing forces include:
1. Intact rock Strength- refers to a rock’s reaction to standard laboratory test to determine its resistance or
strength.
a. Relatively strong Rock – simply let sparks fly with the blow of a hammer.
b. Moderately Strong Rock – just let lumps break with a light hammer Blow.
c. Very weak Rock Simply crumble with a hand grip.
2. Mass weathering Grade – is one of the most important properties that the engineering geologist has to
consider when dealing with a slope stability issue. Weathering of rocks results in physical and chemical
changes due to external process.
3. Spacing Joints- is another property to consider. The term joint as used in its engineering sense refers to the
different types of discontinuities such as a fracture, Fault or bedding plain. Spacing refers to the distance
between joints along a line. The grater the volume of joint in a rock mass, the weaker is that mass.
4. Orientation of joint – with respect to the slope becomes increasingly unfavorable for slope instability as
the dip out of a rock face becomes steeper. It is most favorable for a stability against sliding when the dip Is
into the slope.
5. Width and continuity of joints- wide joints have no cohesive strength and frictional strength can only
develop at the point of contact of rock on either side of the joint.
6. Infill – as a factor is highlighted by the presence of materials such as clay.
7. Water Flow – in a joint is far more important than water in rock pores. It is the water in fissures or clefs
which influences rock mass strength when we speak of cleft water pressure.