Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2018) 3:24

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-018-0132-9

TECHNICAL NOTE

Estimation of rainfall thresholds for landslide occurrences

in Kalimpong, India
Abhirup Dikshit1   · D. Neelima Satyam1

Received: 2 December 2017 / Accepted: 31 January 2018

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract
The Indian Himalayan locale has been essentially influenced by the increase in the frequency of landslide events. Out of
0.42 million ­km2 of India’s landmass prone to landslides, 42% falls in the North East Himalaya, especially Darjeeling and
Sikkim. The harm due to landslides is massive, causing loss of life, property and agricultural land, thus initiating a dire need
for formulating strategies to minimize its impact. There have been many attempts to establish rainfall thresholds on global,
regional and local scales which compare analysis at various levels. Rainfall thresholds anticipate landslide occurrence and
help in issuing a warning to civil authorities and the general population. However, empirical relations defining the relation-
ship between landslide occurrences and rainfall events in Kalimpong remain unattended. In this paper, rainfall thresholds
for landslide occurrence have been ascertained for Kalimpong area of Darjeeling Himalayas, in the Indian province of West
Bengal. A threshold for landslide occurrences which describes intensity–duration threshold was estimated using the power
law equation. The relationship for the study area is I = 3.52 D−0.41 (I is rainfall intensity (mm/h) and D is duration (h)).
Results show that events with a rainfall intensity of 0.95 mm/h with a duration of 24 h have a high risk of slide initiation in
this region. It also demonstrates that for 10- and 20-day antecedent rainfall, an intensity of 88.37 and 133.5 mm is required
for landslide occurrence in this region. Such data would help in implementing early warning systems that focus on rainfall
thresholds and forecasting rainfall measurements. Rainfall thresholds for landslide initiation in Kalimpong can be enhanced
with more precipitation and landslide data as and when available.

Keywords  Landslides · Rainfall ID threshold · Antecedent rainfall · Kalimpong · Early warning system

Introduction those which have caused damages and losses to people,

Of all natural hazards, landslides affect 15% of India’s land
mass [1]. Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas cover more than
40% of landslide-prone areas in the country [Geological
Survey of India (GSI)]. The major causes of landslides in
Kalimpong are rainfall and subsequent infiltration along with
untrained mountain rivulets (known as jhoras in the region).
Landslides have an impact on the built environment, namely
* Abhirup Dikshit
abhirup.dikshit@research.iiit.ac.in;
abhirupdikshit@gmail.com
D. Neelima Satyam
neelima.satyam@iiit.ac.in; neelima.satyam@gmail.com
1
Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, Earthquake
Engineering Research Centre, International Institute
of Information Technology, Hyderabad, Gachibowli,
Hyderabad 500 032, India
properties, infrastructures and future urban development.
Roads are often blocked in this region due to landslides and
cause a major problem for locals. Farmers lose a significant
or entire portion of their agricultural land, eventually losing
their only source of income. Total disruption of vehicular
traffic takes place between the hills and the plains and affects
the transport of goods and tourist operation. The increase of
the frequency of landslides in the region can also be attrib-
uted to the growing population and subsequent development.
The undercutting of slope failures during heavy monsoons,
deforestation and construction activities generate a variety
of landslides and affects the livelihood of people.
Rainfall is considered as an important factor responsible
for landslide triggering, especially in areas characterized by
heavy precipitation during monsoon. The predisposing fac-
tors of a landslide are intrinsic of the local specific condi-
tions including slope angle, soil thickness, slope exposure,
slope curvature, land use, hydraulic conditions, historical

13
Vol.:(0123456789)
24
  Page 2 of 10
landslides, geomorphological units, lithology, tracks and
man-made cuts. Various researchers have attempted to find
a relation between rainfall and triggering of landslides [2, 3].
Landslides caused due to rainfall are due to the buildup of
pore pressure into the ground [4]. The relationship between
landslide occurrences and rainfall in Darjeeling Himala-
yas, especially Kalimpong, still remains unattended. The
adoption of rainfall thresholds helps in developing an alarm
system which would help local people to evacuate in case
of emergencies and notify the civil authorities about such
incidents.
The main objective of the study is to derive local rain-
fall thresholds for landslide occurrences in the Kalimpong
region using daily rainfall and landslide data for the year
2010–2016, also to describe the monsoon rainfall as low
intensity and long duration with interruptions with inter-
mittent heavy bursts, and to check whether the presence of
such rainfall pattern emphasizes the importance of anteced-
ent rainfall. Another objective is to plot the daily rainfalls
on the day of failure for all the landslide events against the
antecedent rainfalls to interpret the bias of landslide occur-
rences. The final objective is to check whether the resulting
output of the present study could be used as decision tools
for landslide hazard forecasting.
Review on rainfall thresholds for landslide
occurrences
The minimum quantity of rainfall required for landslides to
occur will determine the threshold of the area [5]. Thresh-
olds for landslides due to rainfall may also define other
parameters including pore water pressure, the angle of slope,
shear strength or displacements of slopes [6–8]. Guzzetti
et al. [8] and Kanungo and Sharma [1] proposed thresholds
as a lower limit beyond which landslides do not occur and
only for rainfall events which cause landslides known as
triggering rainfall events. On the other hand, Crozier [9]
defined threshold as the upper limit above which landslides
always occur and threshold is the limit that separates trig-
gering from non-triggering rainfall events.
Localized conditions pertaining to a particular slide
describe its movement; therefore, rainfall threshold meth-
ods describing the mechanisms between rainfall patterns and
slide movements can be grouped into (i) empirical model
and (ii) physical model [8, 10]. Empirical rainfall threshold
models are developed by studying the rainfall events that
have resulted in landslides. The threshold is obtained by
drawing lower-bound lines to the rainfall conditions result-
ing in landslides plotted in Cartesian, semi-logarithmic
or logarithmic coordinates [1]. Depending on the type of
rainfall measurement, empirical rainfall thresholds can be
assembled in three general classifications: (1) thresholds
13
Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2018) 3:24
that associate rainfall measurements obtained for specific
rainfall events, (2) thresholds which combine the antecedent
conditions [1] and (3) other thresholds, including hydrologi-
cal thresholds [7]. Physical rainfall threshold models aim to
simulate the physical phenomena and spatial information
related to the water movement due to meteorological inputs
that control initiation of slides [1]. These types of thresholds
are calculated only for rainfall events for which the rainfall
measurement along with time and location are known and
has led to the failure of slopes. In general, thresholds using
empirical model is determined by performing statistical
analysis on historical data of rainfall and landslides [11].
Rainfall thresholds are categorized as global, regional or
local thresholds, depending on the geographical area [11].
Global rainfall threshold establishes a general minimum
level on a global scale below which landslides do not occur.
Such thresholds are independent of local morphological,
lithological and local rainfall pattern or history [1]. This
threshold has been obtained using available data from vari-
ous countries. Regional thresholds are similarly calculated
as global thresholds, but only on the regional scale. Such
thresholds are effective for landslide warning systems using
empirical methods [11]. Local thresholds for various places
have been given by Bacchini and Zannoni [12], Barbero
et al. [13] and Giannecchini [14]. They consider the local
rainfall and geomorphological conditions. Despite that the
Indian Himalayas have extensive landslide vulnerabilities
administered by the monsoon rainfall, relatively few inves-
tigations exist for depicting rainfall thresholds for landslide
events. The geomorphic effects of a severe rainfall event in
the eastern Indian Himalayan region near Darjeeling were
determined [15]. Froehlich et al. [16] showed that rainfall for
24 h of 130–150 mm causes shallow landslides or cumula-
tive rainfall for 3 days equaling 180–200 mm on steep slope
segments in Darjeeling. Rainfall exceeding 250 mm after
24 h or cumulative rainfall for 3 day rainfall of 350 mm can
cause large-scale landslides and debris flows [17]. Rainfall
thresholds for slide initiation in the Chamoli region of Garh-
wal Himalayas were determined [1]. Sengupta et al. [18]
concluded that landslides at Lanta Khola in North Sikkim
(eastern Indian Himalaya) are initiated when collective rain-
fall for more than 15 days exceeds 250 mm. The determina-
tion of intensity duration thresholds becomes crucial for the
Kalimpong region where a majority of landslides are rainfall
induced [19].
Details of the study area
The study area was Kalimpong region, situated in Darjeel-
ing Himalayas in the Indian state of West Bengal (Fig. 1).
It is located at 87.47–89.47N latitude and 26.07–28.07E
longitude on a curved ridge surrounded by Teesta and Relli
Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2018) 3:24 Page 3 of 10  24

Fig. 1  Study area: a India, b West Bengal, c Kalimpong (http://www.earth​.googl​e.com)

rivers in the west and east, respectively. The average eleva-
tion of the area is 1247 m comprising 1056 km2 [20]. The
western slope of the Kalimpong region has been intensely
destabilized due to many landslide locations and sinking
areas. This has been caused due to poor lithological quality,
erosion of River Teesta at the toe and its tributaries within
a short period of time due to heavy rainfall during mon-
soon and deforestation. Geologically, the region comprises
moderately to highly weathered chlorite schist, phyllite and
phyllitic quartzite belonging to the Gorubathan Formation
of the Daling Group [21, 22]. The rocks are variably altered
and generally covered by a thin to thick heterogeneous debris
material (GSI Report, 2016). Figure 2 shows the damages
observed during the field trip in the study area.
The soils in the Kalimpong area are mostly reddish in
color. Occasional dark soils are found due to considerable

13
24
  Page 4 of 10
Fig. 2  Observed damages during the field study. a Damage to culvert, b damaged road along NH 31A, c damage to house, d mudflows and
debris
presence of phyllites and schists. The soil comprises a
high percentage of gravel, sand and silt and varies from
rock outcrops to coarse loamy to fine loamy. Sandy soils
are mainly found in the east of River Teesta [23]. The
soil characteristics vary from coarse to rocky with the
increase in elevation. Typic and Lithic Udorthents, Typic
Dystrochrepts and rock outcrops are more susceptible to
landslides, leading to severe erosion on steep slopes. The
rock outcrops are more susceptible to rockfall, whereas
the Udorthents and Dystrochrepts are more prone to debris
flow [24].
The principal issue with regard to land use in Kalimpong
is increase in population. There is a constrained degree of
expansion of the farming area to keep up with the increase
in population, leading to deforestation and cutting of slopes.
The development of the region to be sufficient for its grow-
ing population leads to increase in the use of concrete and
13
Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2018) 3:24
asphalt, which restricts percolation of rainwater and leads to
severe landslides [19].
The region has been drained by a system of small streams
of different orders. There are roughly five sub-basins drain-
ing the area which flow down as tributaries of the Teesta
River. The complete basin comprises first-order streams,
which join to build secondary and higher-order streams [25].
These first-order rivulets often seem to disappear from some
location in the hill and then reappear downslope. Due to
vigorous expansion of the areas, the rainwater is intensified
by immense surface runoff. Untrained jhoras have resulted
in an increase in sinking areas and are a major cause for the
increase of landslides in the area, leading to loss of agricul-
tural land, life and infrastructure.
A comprehensive survey was accomplished for the
entire region during October 2016 to understand the
intensity of landslides, damage pattern and socioeconomic
Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2018) 3:24 Page 5 of 10  24
aspects. Figure 2a shows the damage to a culvert, which
showed evidence of movement across the structure and
the impact of debris flows on it. Dumping waste under
bridges leads to drainage problems downstream. Figure 2b
shows a damaged road on the 14th milestone, which is the
only road connecting National Highway (NH) 31A. Such
damages can affect the livelihood of people and indicate
the immediate need for early warning systems. Figure 2c
shows the damage to a house caused by poor drainage sys-
tem in the region. This problem is aggravated by various
other factors in the region. Figure 2d shows the extent of
mudflows and debris in Kalimpong Town.
Methodology adopted
The methodology used consists of two key components:
(i) collection of rainfall data which caused slides along
with the date and intensity; (ii) using empirical methods to
determine the relationship between rainfall and landslide
occurrence. Data were collected from various govern-
ment agencies and other sources for the analysis of rainfall
thresholds. Figure 3 explains the methodology adopted for
calculating rainfall thresholds.
Fig. 3  Flow diagram of the methodology for calculating rainfall
thresholds
Rainfall and landslide data considered
The rain gauge used for recording rainfall was situated
near Teesta, Kalimpong. The data included daily rainfall
values between 2010 and 2016 collected from GSI. For
site-specific landslide investigations, rainfall measurement
should be specific to each slope failure, but the area is
ungauged except for the rain gauge at Teesta. Data limita-
tion leads to non-spatial variability of rainfall. Reports
also suggested that the variation in rainfall across Kalim-
pong is negligible, especially during the monsoon. Varia-
tions existed largely in pre-monsoon rain, which occurred
as isolated events and was unevenly distributed over the
study area. The cumulative rainfall in the region from 2010
to 2016 was 2283, 1777.3, 1364, 1021.5, 1028, 1031 and
1986.5 mm, respectively, as shown in Fig. 4. The cumu-
lative rainfall during the monsoon season for the study
area was 1714.5, 1640.4, 1242.6, 703.8, 916.9, 946.4 and
1698.4 mm, respectively. The monsoon rainfall contrib-
uted 75.1, 92.3, 91.1, 68.9, 89.2, 91.8, 85.5% of annual
rainfall (Fig. 5).
To determine accurate thresholds, it is important to
have a properly distributed network of rain gauges across
the area along with an authenticated record of landslide
occurrence which contains information about the location
and time of initiation. The rainfall records for rain gauge
at Teesta in Kalimpong are limited. The challenges for
defining a precise threshold are the variability of geologi-
cal, geomorphological and anthropogenic factors across
an area.
Landslide data were prepared from records maintained by
GSI between 1968 and 2016. National Institute of Disaster
Management (NIDM) reports and published literature were
also considered for landslide information in Kalimpong.
Other sources were also used to establish the landslide data-
base which includes local newspaper reports. The reports
mentioned the initial time when the slide occurred and the
time to clear the mass. Landslide locations were reported in
terms of village names, ward numbers or the name of the
nearby village. Since the area is remotely located, the time
and location of some events may be inaccurate, especially
for single isolated events. The reports often did not precisely
locate the slides and local newspaper reports were used to
verify such data. The database only includes landslide events
for the period 2010–2016 due to the unavailability of rain-
fall data for this region. Landslide damages varied from the
death of a significant number of people, to some events lead-
ing to minor blockage of highways lasting for only a few
hours. The reports included only those events which led to
loss of life and property, including loss of cattle and agricul-
tural land. Landslides are represented on the basis of daily
average rainfall and cumulative rainfall in Fig. 5.
13
24
  Page 6 of 10 Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2018) 3:24

Fig. 4  Cumulative annual
rainfall in Kalimpong Town
(2010–2016)

Fig. 5  Cumulative rainfall and

landslide occurrences during
the monsoon period from 2010
to 2016

Analysis for rainfall thresholds
The threshold for landslide triggering rainfall events in
Kalimpong was determined. Rainfall data and landslide
information during 2010–2016 was extracted and used
to calculate rainfall thresholds. The method of calculat-
ing thresholds is by analyzing the relation between inten-
sity–duration and antecedent rainfall. Thresholds are calcu-
lated using the power law equation:
I = 𝛼D−𝛽 , (1)
where I is the rainfall intensity (mm/h), D is the rainfall
duration (h), α is a scaling parameter (the intercept) and β
is the shape parameter that controls the slope of the power
law threshold curve.
The use of power law equation to predict landslide occur-
rence is based on two assumptions. Firstly, as the intensity
of rainfall increases, the probability of landslides increases
nonlinearly. This assumption states that the probability of
landslide occurrence below the threshold value is low, and
above the threshold the probability increases nonlinearly.
The second assumption states that there is a decrease in slide
initiation if the duration of rainfall increases.
The empirical data are log transformed to fit data across
multiple orders of magnitude. The empirical rainfall data are
plotted in the log–log graph, and the distribution of rainfall

13
Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2018) 3:24 Page 7 of 10  24

conditions, log(I) vs. log(D), is plotted. The graph is plotted
only for those data that resulted in landslides and is fitted
using the least square method with a linear equation of the
type:
log(I) = log(𝛼) − 𝛽log(D), (2)
which is similar to the power law. Thereafter, for every
rainfall event, the difference δ(D) between the log of event
intensity log[I(D)] and the corresponding intensity value
log[If(D)] is determined, i.e.,
Different threshold values have been established for
determining rainfall intensities across the globe with vari-
ous climatic conditions. Guzzetti et al. [8] were the first
to list 52 earlier works of intensity–duration thresholds
on global, regional and local contexts which resulted in
landslides. Figure 7 shows the comparisons with various
threshold values provided by various researchers in the
global, regional and local contexts.

(3)
[ ]
𝛿(D) = log[I(D)] − log If (D) .
Kernel density estimation is used to calculate the prob-
ability density function (pdf) of the distribution of δ(D). The
result is fitted using the least square method with a Gaussian
function.
f (x) = aexp − (x − b)2! ∕2c2 , (4)
where a > 0, c > 0, and a, b, c ∈ R. Finally, thresholds cor-
responding to different exceedance probabilities are defined,
based on the modeled (fitted) distribution of δ(D).
Intensity–duration threshold identifies the minimum rain-
fall condition which leads to landslide or failure of slopes
[26, 27, 31]. 99 landslide events occurred, of which 61 were
initiated due to rainfall and were considered to calculate the
ID threshold. The distribution of rainfall conditions result-
ing in landslide initiation is fitted to the power law equation
(Fig. 6a). Figure 6b shows the kernel density estimation of
the differences δ(D) fitted with a Gaussian function. Fig. 7  Comparison of rainfall intensity–duration (ID) thresholds for
landslide occurrences from various studies and the present study

Fig. 6  a Rainfall intensity–duration (ID) thresholds for 99 rainfall events which ]led to landslide occurrences in Kalimpong between 2010 and
2016. b Kernel density estimation of the differences 𝛿(D) = log[I(D)] − log If (D)
[

13
24
  Page 8 of 10
Results and discussion
Intensity–duration threshold was calculated using rainfall
events resulting in landslides between 2010 and 2016 for the
Kalimpong region in Darjeeling Himalayas. Most literature
considers antecedent conditions to define landslide occur-
rence using empirical thresholds dependent on the amount
of antecedent precipitation [3, 10, 28]. Antecedent rainfall
influences soil moisture and groundwater level, thus caus-
ing slope failure. The geographical pattern and variation in
soil moisture conditions are difficult to estimate precisely
as they depend on factors, such as heterogeneity of the soil
and regional climate. The relationship between antecedent
rainfall and landslide occurrences assumes importance only
when calculated for a defined area with similar geological
and rainfall conditions and its application to other regions
is not recommended. The limitations in the application of
empirical rainfall threshold are in the availability of accurate
and verified landslide and rainfall values including recording
time. Research works on rainfall thresholds using anteced-
ent rainfall suggest that an antecedent rainfall of 3 days to
4 months is significant in explaining landslide occurrences
[1, 29, 30]. The method is based on trial and error for land-
slide initiation. Low intensity and long duration with inter-
ruptions are characteristics of monsoon rainfalls in the study
region. Empirical models using antecedent rainfall repre-
sents challenging and valid methods to estimate landslide
occurrences in this region and support a landslide warning
system.
Analysis of daily rainfall at failure and antecedent rainfall
for 3, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 30 days time durations are plotted
(Fig. 8). A diagonal line in the daily cumulative rainfall chart
represents the threshold. The daily and cumulative rainfalls
are similar at the time of failure and are indicated by the
divider line in each graph [1]. Figure 9a–f shows graphs
Fig. 8  Representation of daily rainfall at failure and antecedent rain-
fall prior to failure (3, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 30 days)
13
Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2018) 3:24
of daily rainfall in relation to antecedent rainfall of various
time durations (3, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 30 days), respectively.
Figure 9a depicts that 43% of the total landslide events for
3-day antecedent rainfall are biased toward the daily rainfall
(y axis) which means that 43% of rainfall events were under
the influence of daily rainfall intensity. Similar relationships
were observed for various other time durations (Fig. 9b–f).
This effect decreases to 23, 11, 8, 8 and 5% for 7, 10, 15,
20 and 30 days of cumulative rainfall, respectively. The
study area suffers from continuous rainfall, which leads to
such results. Short-term rainfall data like hourly data would
help in refining the present result of rainfall conditions. The
rainfall threshold relationship according to the power law is
found to be I = 3.52 D−0.41. Results depict that the rainfall
event for a short time period of 24 h with a rainfall intensity
of 0.95 mm/h can cause landslides. For rainfall durations
of about 5 days, which is the case during the monsoon, an
average rainfall of 0.46 mm/h is enough to cause landslides.
The threshold for landslide initiation in the study area can
be taken for a period of 10-day antecedent rainfall equal-
ing 88.37 mm (Fig. 9c). However, more accurate results are
obtained for a 20-day antecedent rainfall of 133.5 mm.
Conclusions
Landslides have wreaked havoc in this region, causing
deaths and loss of property and agricultural land. The causes
for slide initiation are rainfall and untrained mountain rivu-
lets or jhoras in the region. Therefore, it becomes imperative
for landslide prediction and eventually early warning sys-
tem. The study focused on rainfall conditions that triggered
landslides in Kalimpong in the past and a rainfall inten-
sity–duration threshold was calculated. A simple relation-
ship is depicted between rainfall and landslide incidences
using empirical methods. The method uses power law, and
intercept α and β of power law are estimated through lin-
ear fitting of empirical rainfall data, based on least square
minimization method. The thresholds calculated are also
compared with various thresholds calculated globally (com-
piled by [8]) for different regions. The result depicts that an
antecedent rainfall of 20 days gives the best relation with
respect to landslide incidences in the Kalimpong region. It
can also be stated that landslides in the region would occur
when antecedent rainfall of 88.37 mm exceeds over 10 day
period, and 133.5 mm over a 20-day period. These thresh-
olds can be used as a predictive tool, but due care needs to
be taken when they are used for an early warning system.
This analysis would help in detailed research with the avail-
ability of hourly rainfall data and extensive landslide data.
The thresholds can be improved at local and regional levels
for a reliable warning system.
Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2018) 3:24 Page 9 of 10  24

Fig. 9  a–f Relation between antecedent rainfall prior to failure (3, 7, 10, 20 and 30 days) and daily rainfall for landslide occurrences

13
24
  Page 10 of 10 Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2018) 3:24

References 16. Froehlich W, Gil E, Kasza I, Starkel L (1990) Thresholds in the

transformation of slopes and river channels in the Darjeeling
Himalaya, India. Mt Res Dev 10:301–312
1. Kanungo DP, Sharma S (2014) Rainfall thresholds for prediction
17. Froehlich W, Starkel L (1987) Normal and extreme monsoon
of shallow landslides around Chamoli–Joshimath region, Garhwal
rains: their role in the shaping of the Darjeeling Himalaya. Studia
Himalayas, India. Landslides 11:629–638
Geomorphologica Carpatho-Balcanica 21:129–156
2. Wieczorek GF (1996) Landslide triggering mechanisms. In:
18. Sengupta A, Gupta S, Anbarasu K (2010) Rainfall thresholds for
Turner AK, Schuster RL (eds) Landslides: investigation and miti-
the initiation of landslide at Lanta Khola in north Sikkim, India.
gation. Special Report, Transportation Research Board, National
Nat Hazards 52:31–42
Research Council, Washington, DC, pp 76–90
19. Rao P (2010) Landslide hazards: the dire need for a compre-
3. Glade T, Crozier MJ, Smith P (2000) Applying probability deter-
hensive long term solution to the landslide problems at Chibo–
mination to refine landslide-triggering rainfall thresholds using an
Pashyor villages, Kalimpong, district Darjeeling, West Bengal, in
empirical “Antecedent Daily Rainfall Model”. Pure Appl Geophys
Geo-hazards in Sub-Himalayan North Bengal, University of North
157(6/8):1059–1079
Bengal, SAP Monograph-1, pp 76–82
4. Campbell RH (1975) Soil slips, debris flows, and rainstorms in
20. Dikshit A, Satyam N (2017) Application of FLaIR model for early
the Santa Monica Mountains and vicinity, southern California. In:
warning system in Chibo Pashyor, Kalimpong, India for rainfall-
US Geological Survey Professional Paper 851. US Government
induced landslides. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci Discuss. https​://
Printing Office, Washington, DC, pp 51
doi.org/10.5194/nhess​-2017-295
5. Varnes DJ (1978) Slope movement types and processes. In: Schus-
21. Sumantra SB, Raghunath P (2016) Causes of landslides in Dar-
ter RL, Krizek RJ (eds) Landslide analysis and control. Special
jeeling Himalayas during June–July, 2015. J Geogr Nat Disasters
Report 176, Transportation Research Board, National Academy
6:173. https​://doi.org/10.4172/2167-0587.10001​73
of Sciences, Washington DC, pp 12–33
22. Ghoshal TB, Sarkar NK, Ghosh S, Surendranath M (2008) GIS
6. Crozier M (1996) The climate–landslide couple: a southern
based landslide susceptibility mapping—a study from Darjeel-
hemisphere perspective. Paleoclimate Res 19(ESF Special Issue
ing–Kalimpong area, Eastern Himalaya, India. J Geol Soc India
12):329–350
72:763–773
7. Reichenbach P, Cardinali M, De Vita P, Guzzetti F (1998)
23. Mor S (2013) Critical ecosystem modeling and analysis of Dar-
Regional hydrological thresholds for landslides and floods in the
jeeling District, West Bengal, India using geospatial techniques,
Tiber River Basin (Central Italy). Environ Geol 35(2–3):146–159
Dissertation, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun, India
8. Guzzetti F, Peruccacci S, Rossi M, Stark CP (2007) Rainfall
24. Chatterjee R (2010) Landslide hazard zonation mapping of Kalim-
thresholds for the initiation of landslides in Central and southern
pong. VDM Verlag Dr. Muller GmbH & Co. KG, Saarbrücken
Europe. Meteorol Atmos Phys 98:239–267
25. Mukherjee A, Mitra AK (2001) Geotechnical study of mass move-
9. Crozier MJ (1999) Prediction of rainfall-triggered landslides:
ments along the Kalimpong approach road in the Eastern Himala-
a test of the antecedent water status model. Earth Surf Process
yas. Indian J Geol 73(4):271–279
Landf 24:825–833
26. Iverson RM (2000) Landslide triggering by rain infiltration. Water
10. Aleotti P (2004) A warning system for rainfall-induced shallow
Resour Res 36(7):1897–1910
failures. Eng Geol 73:247–265
27. Godt JW, Baum RL, Chleborad AF (2006) Rainfall characteristics
11. Guzzetti F, Peruccacci S, Rossi M, Stark CP (2008) The rainfall
for shallow landsliding in Seattle, Washington, USA. Earth Surf
intensity–duration control of shallow landslides and debris flows:
Process Landf 31:97–110
an update. Landslides 5(1):3–17
28. Lumb P (1975) Slope failure in Hong Kong. Q J Eng Geol 8:31–65
12. Bacchini M, Zannoni A (2003) Relations between rainfall and
29. Kim SK, Hong WP, Kim YM (1991) Prediction of rainfall-trig-
triggering of debris-flow: case study of Cancia (Dolomites, North-
gered landslides in Korea. In: Bell DH (ed) Landslides, 2nd edn.
eastern Italy). Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 3:71–79. http://www.
A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 989–994
nat-hazar​ds-earth​-syst-sci.net/3/71/2003/
30. Pasuto A, Silvano S (1998) Rainfall as a triggering factor of shal-
13. Barbero S, Rabuffetti D, Zaccagnino M (2004) Una metodo-
low mass movements. A case study in the Dolomites, Italy. Envi-
logia per la definizione delle soglie pluviometriche a supporto
ron Geol 35(2–3):184–189
dell’emissione dell’allertamento. In: Proceedings of 29th Con-
31. Caine N (1980) The rainfall intensity duration control of shallow
vegno Nazionale di Idraulica e Costruzioni Idrauliche. Trento,
landslides and debris flows. Geogr Ann 62:23–27
Italy, pp 211–217 (in Italian)
14. Giannecchini R (2005) Rainfall triggering soil slips in the south-
ern Apuane Alps (Tuscany, Italy). Adv Geosci 2:21–24
15. Starkel L (1972) The role of catastrophic rainfall in the shaping
of the relief of the lower Himalaya (Darjeeling Hills). Geogr Pol
21:103–147

13