Landslide Hazard Mitigation Geological Studies

R.K.
Panigrahi
Landslide and Jai
Hazard Bhagwan
Mitigation
Geological and Geotechnical Studies for

Stabilisation of Rock Slope
R.K. Panigrahi1 and Jai Bhagwan2
1
Principal Scientist, 2Senior Principal Scientist
CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi
E-Mail: panigrahi_crri@yahoo.co.in
ABSTRACT: The rock slope failure is a common problem in different hill ranges of India.
National and state highways aligned through unstable rock slope stretches in mountainous terrain
are highly prone to failure and require a set of suitable remedial measures to stabilize them. The
great Himalayan Mountain is a majestic cluster of several number of more or less parallel hill
ranges intervened by numerous valleys and extended plateaus. Plate tectonics and evolution of
Himalayan rock slope, explain the formation of natural rock slopes. Almost all rock slope
failures occur along pre-existing natural rock discontinuities or plane of weakness. In rock slope
stability problems, the actual failure or sliding surface depends upon spatial orientation,
frequency and distribution of the discontinuities and the inherent shear strength of filling
material in the discontinuities. Different types of geological and geotechnical investigations are
required to evolve input data for design of remedial measures for stabilization of rock slopes.
The present paper is intended to highlight with different types of geological and geotechnical
investigations for rock slopes, Shear Strength of Rock Mass, Rock Mass Rating(RMR), Slope
Mass Rating (SMR), Rock Mass Quality (Q), rock dynamic studies along with other studies
which help to evolve a set of cost optimized remedial measures for stabilization of rock slopes.
1. INTRODUCTION
India has a very large network of roads, which is over 4.32 million kilometers and ranked
as the second largest road network in the world. A large part of this road network passes through
different hill ranges, thereby facing numerous slope stability problems, landslides, debris floes,
rock falls etc. As mentioned above, the rock slope failure is one of the most common problems
in different hill ranges of India. National and state highways are aligned through these
mountainous terrains are highly prone to different kinds of failures and require a set of suitable
remedial measures to stabilize unstable slopes including the rock slopes. It has been observed
most all rock slope failures occur along pre-existing natural rock discontinuities or along a plane
of weakness. In rock slope stability problems, the actual failure or sliding surface depends on
many factors, which include spatial orientation of rocks, frequency and distribution of
discontinuities the inherent shear strength of filling material in the discontinuities etc. It is,
therefore, necessary that better taking up investigations to work out suitable remedial measure
for rock slopes. Different types of geological and geotechnical investigations are carried out for
stabilization of rock slopes.
2. PLATE TECTONICS AND EVOLUTION OF HIMALAYAN ROCK SLOPES
Rock slope failure problem is mainly confined to the Himalayan region, Western Ghats
and Eastern Ghats. The cause of formation of Himalaya Mountain is plate tectonics. In collision
INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

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Geological and Geotechnical Studies for Stabilisation of Rock Slope
margin oceans are drastically narrowed or completely closed by overriding and converging
continents, the relatively light, high-standing continental crust is compressed and folded to
produce the linear trending mountain ranges such as the Himalayas. About 225 million years ago
India was a large island off the Australian coast located well south of the equator. A vast body of
water called the Tethys Sea separated India and Asia. But over millions of years India moved
north until it eventually collided with Asia about 40 to 50 million years ago. When the two
landmasses smashed together, the Earth’s crust crumpled and folded. Because both landmasses
have roughly the same rock density, the only way to relieve the pressure was for the Earth to
thrust upwards -- creating the jagged peaks of the Himalayan Mountains and the Tibetan plateau.
Frequent variations in the geological structures, and lithology of rock slope in association with
erratic rainfall intensity leads to rock slope failure. The Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats are
formed due to volcanism. The Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats were formed when Indian plate
over ride the hotspot of lava, which explodes in to volcanism. So the main rock type in this
region is Basalt and the main cause of failures in this region is columnar joint present in Basalt.
Plate tectonic activity explains very well for the formation of Himalaya (CRRI Report, 2012).
The concepts of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics are firmly established as the likely
mechanisms that have continued to move the continents apart during the past 200 million years.
The spreading of the seafloor from mid ocean ridges has been established by oceanographic
studies and age determination of rock.
The Earth’s surface today is divided in to eight large rigid plates and a dozen lesser ones. There
are three basic types of plate boundaries or margins:
1. The zones of divergence or spreading, that is, the typical ocean ridges;
2. The transform margins where plates slide sideways past each other;
3. The zones of convergences where the plates move directly toward each other.
The ocean spreading ridges are also known as accretion margins. New basaltic ocean
crust is formed where heat and volcanic flows well up from the interior of the earth. Transform
margins occur where the plates slide sideways past each other. The zones of convergence are
essentially of two types, consuming margin and collision margins. At the consuming margins,
the dense oceanic rock dives either beneath the lighter continental crust or somewhat thinner
oceanic crust as in deep sea trenches. The descending plate is consumed by warming and melting
at depth. This melting produces molten rock material, which ascends and provides volcanoes and
igneous intrusions above the leading edge of the descending plate. In collision margin oceans are
drastically narrowed or completely closed by overriding and converging continents, the
relatively light, high-standing continental crust is compressed and folded to produce the linear
trending mountain ranges such as the Himalayas. Geologists believe that some 225 million
years ago India was a large island off the Australian coast located well south of the equator. A
vast body of water called the Tethys Sea separated India and Asia. But over millions of years
India moved north until it eventually collided with Asia about 40 to 50 million years ago. When
the two landmasses smashed together the Earth’s crust crumpled and folded. Because both
landmasses have roughly the same rock density, the only way to relieve the pressure was for the
Earth to thrust upwards -- creating the jagged peaks of the Himalayan Mountains and the Tibetan
plateau. The speed of India’s northward progression was cut in half after the collision, but it does
still continue to push north and slide under Asia. As a result, the Himalayas are still growing at a
rate of 60 mm every year. Mount Everest itself is actually moving about 27 millimeters northeast

441
R.K. Panigrahi and Jai Bhagwan
a year. Because of this movement, tremendous stresses build in the Earth’s crust and are relieved
through earthquakes in this region (CRRI Report, 2012).
Under the massive heat and pressure caused by the collision, the rocks changed
repeatedly. The Everest massif (which includes the peaks of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, and
Changtse) is a showcase to the history of these changing rocks. The Himalayas are one of the
best places to study the mountain building process. The lower area of the Everest massif shows a
history of rock that was heated and reheated under extreme pressure. The result is course and
crystalline schist that splits easily into thin sheets. Above the schist is a large outcropping of
granite, an igneous rock formed under intense heat. This granite is very evident on the lower
Nuptse- Lhotse wall. Granite is light in color and is known to erode in blocks. Above the granite
is a sedimentary rock that, in this case, was formed when material was deposited as sediment to
the ocean floor and then was consolidated by the collision pressure.
3 IDENTIFICATION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF ROCK SLOPE FAIL
During the early stages of investigation it is important to have an idea about the different
types of slope movement that may occur. This aspect influences the investigation and design
procedure to a major extent. Slope movement can be classified in a number of ways. Fig. 1
shows different types of rock slope failure based on the type of material and type of movement.
In the different categories of rock slope failure, material is divided in to rock and soil. Rock
includes un-weathered and weathered rock in which separation of the failed portion generally
follows discontinuity planes. Soil is subdivided in to predominantly coarse materials (debris) and
fine materials (earth).debris generally consists of colluviums or existing landslide deposits
whereas earth consists of finer transported and residual soil. Failure in these materials is usually
independent of the soil structure but may follow relic discontinuities preserved from the original
material.
4 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGICAL STUDIES FOR ROCK SLOPE
These are structural features which separate intact rock blocks within a rock mass. Discontinuity
is otherwise called as rock defects as shown in Fig.2. Bedding planes in sedimentary rocks,
cleavages and schistosities in metamorphic rock are typical example of fabric defects. Fold, fault
and joints are structural defects. Joints, faults & fractures are all discontinuities. These
discontinuities are planes of weakness along which there is little or no tensile strength. Slope
failures depend on the extent, type & pattern of discontinuities in the rock mass. Cleavage planes
in rock have a tendency to cleave or split along definite parallel plane which may be highly
inclined to the bedding. Cleavage plane are generated under the influence of tensile stresses
which which determine rock splitting along definite parallel planes. Cleavage is also associated
with changes in rock fabric and large folding. Cleavage is a secondary structure and is usually
accompanied by at least some crystallization of the rock. Schistosities are the varieties of
foliations that occur in the coarser grained metamorphic rock and are usually the result of the
parallel management of platy and ellipsoidal grain within the rock substance. The schistosity
surfaces are usually slickenside and slightly undulated exhibiting a negligible dilatance in direct
shear condition. Fold is a bend or deformation in the strata or other planar structure within a rock
mass. Folds are formed when the rocks are plastically deformed resulting in anticlines and
synclines. Folds are caused by a bend in the strata of layered rock. From a rock mechanics point

442
of view Fault or fracture zone along which there has been displacement of two sides relative to
one another parallel to the fracture plane. To put it simply, faults are rock fractures along which
the opposing blocks of rock have moved or moving. Joints are fractures in rocks along which
there is no displacement of the adjacent blocks parallel to the plane of the fracture (CRRI
Report, 2012).
Fig. 1 Different Types of Rock Slope Failures

5. SHEAR STRENGTH OF ROCK MASS
The purpose of rock slope stability analysis in earthquake loading conditions is usually to
assess if the shear stress accumulation, due to cyclic loading, may cause instability along
discontinuities .In this case, a constitutive model of joint behavior should be set up by
determining the joint strength mobilized at each forward and reverse loading cycle and the shear
stress-displacement law. In dynamic loading condition joint exhibit a different shear behavior

443
with respect to the static conditions. The rough joint shear behavior is influenced by the dynamic
load according to the joint physical conditions. Dynamic joint shear behavior is influenced, in
the pre-peak phase, by the normal and tangential loading frequency and by the number of
loading cycles. In post-peak conditions, shear behavior is only influenced by the joint wall
sliding rate. General features constitutive models for cycle loaded joint which relate the
variation of the static shear resistance parameters to the loading cycle intensity and shear
displacement velocity are not yet available for carrying out rock slope stability analysis in
dynamic conditions. Stability conditions of potentially unstable rock masses may be analyzed in
peak shear strength conditions when the discontinuities on which rock masses may slide are
closed and unfilled .The principal parameters required for the natural unfilled discontinuity shear
strength according to the methodology of Barton et.al. 1985 are reported in Table 1. The
equilibrium condition of the rock which can be subjected to be slide along discontinuity planes
present in a rock slope. Shear and deformation features of a rock mass as a whole system of
discontinuities and intact rocks are required for the problems involving stress-strain analysis of
different types of rock structures such as tunnels and underground openings. In the closely
jointed rock case (the unit block is very small) an instability phenomenon can involve several
blocks with relative movements between unstable blocks. A stability analysis should consider
the shear resistance and the stiffness of the system of blocks
Table-1 Principal parameters for natural discontinuity shear strength determination
Quantity Description Nodes
Øь Basic friction angle obtained in the laboratory on artificially cut Øь>Øŗ
discontinuities
Øŗ Residual friction angle , the minimum value of friction resistance Øŗ
Obtained in the laboratory after several forward and reverse shear
cycles .Øŗ is correlated to Øь and JCS of the examined (r) and
correspondent Sound (R) wall as:
Øŗ=(Øь -20)+20 r/R
JCS₀ Joint compressive strength obtained with the Schmidt hammer JCS₀ >JCS
tests In the laboratory scale(L₀)
JRC₀ Joint roughness coefficient obtained in the laboratory scale(L₀) by :
- comparison with standard profiles; JRC₀ >JRC
- Tilt tests
JRC JRC free of scale obtained by:
- Statistical , geostatistical and fractal application procedures;
- Correlation to JRC₀ and referring to a length Lη as:
JRC=JRC₀ [Lη/ L₀]-0.02 JRC₀
JCS JCS free of scale correlated to JCS₀ and JRC₀ as:
JCS= JCS₀[Lη/ L₀]-0.03JRC₀
The interlocking degree which can decrease with rock mass
relaxation in slope Excavation, erosion, etc. should be considered
in the design phase by cautiously
Decreasing the JRC and JCS values

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Fig. 2 Different Types Instabilities in Rocks due to Geological Structures

445
6. REMEDIAL MEASURES FOR ROCK SLOPE

As mentioned earlier, the remedial measures for any unstable rock slope required detailed
geological and geotechnical studies. The different types of studies include information regarding
formation of slopes prior to cultiner for the alignment of road, identification of possible sections
which are prone to failure, study of geological structures, at particular site hydrological studies
and their effect on slopes along the road section, Rock engineering investigation techniques,
stability analysis of rock slope, Mechanism of rock slope failures and etc.have to performed for
Based on all these studies, a set of suitable remedial measures are evolved for short term and
long term remediation of failure of rock slope.
Fig. 3 Different Types of Stabilised Rock Slope

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Some of remedial measures for stabilization of rock slope are shown in Fig.3.These remedial
measures generally comprise of improving surface and sub-surface drainage, restraining
structures, reinforcement techniques, Rock bolts, Shotcrete, Steel fiber reinforced shotcrete
(SFRS), etc.
7. CONCLUSIONS
Geological and geotechnical studies in detail are necessary to understand and quantify the
number of factors related to mechanism of rock slope failures. Stability monitoring of rock mass
of a rock slope by rock dynamic study, rock engineering investigation and acoustic emission
technique provide an in-depth know how regarding its stability, which otherwise would have
been an impossible task with the existing conventional methods. Acoustic emission
investigations go hand in hand with the conventional instrumentation. The success of a rock
slope stabilisation in hill roads mainly depend on a proper cost optimised design based on above
mentioned different types of studies in great detail.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors are grateful to Prof. Subhamaya Gangopadhyaya, Director, Central Road Research
Institute, New Delhi for his kind permission to publish this paper. Authors are thankfull to ex-
research intern and Sri Sudhanshu Kumar for extending their help for preparation of this
manuscript.
References
Barton N ; Bandis S & Bakhtar K (1985), “Strength, deformation and conductivity coupling of
rock joints”. Int.J.Rock Mech.Min Sci ; pp. 121-140.
CRRI (2012). “Report on Preparation of Guidelines for Stabilization of Rock slope (in-house
project)”. CSIR-CRRI New Delhi.

447
K. Raj Kumar, D.K. Landslide
Chadha, Trilochan Singh and Avinash Chandra
Hazard Mitigation
Geophysical Landslide Investigation and

Geotechnical Works in the Rawana Village,
Rajgarh Tehsil, Sirmaur District, Himachal Pradesh
K. Raj Kumar, D.K. Chadha, Trilochan Singh and Avinash Chandra
Global Hydrogeological Solutions, Vikaspuri, New Delhi-110018
e-mail: phuvanraj@gmail.com
ABSTRACT: In the last decade, geophysical techniques have been increasingly used for
landslide investigation purposes. In this study, we attempt to physically characterize the
deformation within a large slide (Rawana) Occurrence of landslides due to slope failure in
hilly terrains is a natural phenomenon. Landslides have occurred in the study area in the
past also. The recent landslide that occurred in Rawana area was accompanied by heat and
gases emanations, which created panic in the local inhabitants. Generally, geophysical
resistivity survey was conducted to determine the thickness of over burden and depth to
bedrock. It helped to determine the points for the exploratory pits. The inferred lithological
depth sections clearly outline the importance of resistivity in landslide studies, Slope
movements in clay deposits are world widespread and result from complex deformation
processes, including internal strains in the landslide body and slipping along rupture
surfaces. Its slope has continuously been disturbed by the Giri River. It is further aided by
the structural set up, weak lithology and little or no overburden left on the slope. Initially
the overburden might have been involved in sliding and later the weathered rock became
involved due to continued erosion of the toe. The process was further escalated by the
action of water (rain and seepages), which increased the density of the sliding mass and its
mobility. Likewise, the crown region got disturbed and lost its equilibrium and was
destabilized.
Keywords: Geophysical Survey, Landslide Hazards, Remote sensing and Site
characterization.
1 INTRODUCTION
In recent years, application of geophysics for landslide studies has widely increased. A
landslide is a complex geologic body composed of a combination of layers having
contrasting and gradational physical properties (Bogoslovsky and Ogilvy, 1977).
Landslides, earthquakes, floods and avalanches are natural hazards in mountainous regions.
Long term interaction between the geological environs and the climatic conditions gives
rise to various kinds of landforms having varying degree of susceptibility to sliding. The
main problems in landslide characterization are related to the subsurface geology and
hydrological conditions and in many cases the information on the depth and the lateral
continuity of the sliding surfaces cannot be obtained through boreholes or geological
investigations. However, geophysical investigations can provide in situ subsurface
conditions, which in turn can be translated into geotechnical information on the parameters
of the subsoil towards a complete understanding of the physical behavior of a slope.
Feasibility of various direct and indirect geophysical techniques resolve details of sliding

448
Geophysical Landslide Investigation and Geotechnical Works in the Rawana Village,
masses, such as down slope movement, thickness, relief of bedrock, depth of water table
and internal composition of the sliding mass (Bogoslovsky et al.1977; Mills, 1990; Caris
and Van Asch, 1991; 2000; Hack, 2001; Israil and Pachauri, 2003; Lapena et al. 2003;
Bichler et al. 2004). The Resistivity soundings (Vertical electrical sounding abbreviated as
VES) were conducted by Schlumberger configuration using the measured apparent
resistivity pseudo-section in a true Resistivity cross-section model, Hence, Schlumberger
method was adopted in the present study.
2 LOCATION AND GEOLOGY
The Rawana Landslide Zone (300 48’ 25” N : 770 15’ 30” E) is an active landslide zone
in the Giri River Valley and is located along the north-eastern facing slopes on the right
bank, between the Rawana Village in the NW and Jabyana Village in the SE. It is situated
just near the place where the Giri River takes an abrupt left turn in its course from NW-SE
to SW-NE and further resumes its regional flow direction towards SE. The area is covered
under the Survey of India toposheet No. 53 F/5. Geologically the area shows the signatures
of Himalayan tectonism and uplift, which caused strong erosional flux and produced the
present day landforms and instability zones. Jutogh and Chail Formations are low to
medium grade metamorphic rocks of Precambrian age, which are thrusted (Jutogh/Chail
thrusts) over the rocks of Simla and Jaunsar Groups of Precambrian age. The later do not
show signs of metamorphism except its incipient effects at places (e.g. slaty shale), and
are faulted / thrusted over a group of sedimentary sequence consisting of Blaini, Infra-Krol
and Krol formations, which overlies the Lower Tertiary Formations (Subathu, Dagshai,
Kasauli) along the Krol Thrust. Auden (1934) has given an excellent account of the
Geology of Krol Belt.
3 RAWANA LANDSLIDE
The Rawana landslide zone is a major active slide zone in the Giri Valley. It is located
along the north-eastern facing slopes of the Giri Valley between the Rawana Village in the
NW and Jabyana Village in the SE. The slide occurs on the right bank of the Giri River
where it takes an abrupt left turn in its downstream course, changing its flow direction from
NW-SE to SW-NE. The slide zone has been advancing laterally and also towards the
crown front, as a result of which it has engulfed the fields and houses of the Upper Rawana
Village and endangering the adjacent fields. The seepages and oozes of water in the body
of the slide have been observed along the footpath to the Jawala ji temple from Jabyana
Village. Such waters act as the lubricant and help triggering the downhill movement of the
debris material continuously, and as a result crown of the landslide has been shifting uphill
during the last three to four years. The orifices of hot water/vapours (having suphurous
smell) are noticed at the middle part of the slide. In fact, the present landslide is an
activation of an older slide in the north-western side that overlaps the later near the toe.
3.1Geophysical Survey
The Resistivity soundings (Vertical electrical sounding abbreviated as VES) were
conducted by Schlumberger configuration using shallow sounding Resistivity Meter
(model: SSR MP ATS). The results of interpretation presented as pseudo sections along the

449
geo-electrical profiles crossing the landslide zone are shown in the Fig. 1. The sections
indexed by value of specific electrical resistivity (Ohm-m) are marked with colours: blue -
for low resistance, dark red - for high resistivity ranges. The present survey suggests that at
the top of the landslide stretch, limestone is present at the depth of 8 m to 20 m bgl, and
further below no bedrock was touched at least up to the depth of 140m bgl. The mid and
bottom of the Rawana Landslide stretch has shown eroded materials of the debris mass,
and thus, the geophysical survey could not identify the rock material. Assumed tectonic
disturbances are shown with sub vertical lines in the Figure 2. The top surface layer of the
landslide body in its mid and bottom portion show a range of resistivity values 650-800
Ohm-m, which is represented by friable sand-clay sediments with residual blocks of
disintegrated limestone. The resistivity values increase up to 100 Ohm-m at the top portion
of the landslide, which corresponds to the limestone. This top layer of sand-clay with
disintegrated limestone forms the roof of underlying compact sand, which has resistivity
values from 200 to 700 Ohm-m. This low resistivity testifies to presence of water solutions
in rocks. Further below, the layers represents dense silty clay having the resistivity values
30-90 Ohm-m. The limestone appears to be sub horizontal, while the sandy clay has rather
steep inclination.
Limesto
Limesto
Fig. 1 Pseudo apparent resistivity cross-section along A-A’
Fig. 2 Geo-electrical section based on Resistivity Survey of the Rawana Landslide

450
3.2 Topographic Survey

Topographical survey was carried out for the landslide zone using Total Station (Sokkia
SET 510 workstation) on a scale of 1:2,000 (1cm to 20m). Five successive cross-sections
(A-A1 to E-E1) trending N550E-S550W from south-eastern end to north-western end of
the slide encompassing the entire landslide zone were prepared for slope analysis, as shown
in the Figure 3. The survey data has also been used to measure the movement of model
slopes after causing displacement to each model slope using non-prism Total Station and
examined its applicability by displacement through the analysis of data.
Fig. 3 Topographic survey of the Rawana landslide (June 2011), showing cross section
lines. Profile along section line a-a1 showing changes in slope. Bulges are seen near
the upper and the middle parts.
The composition of the slide mass and other characteristics detailed above indicate that
the Rawana Landslide is mainly due to slope failure rather than the base failure. The bulges
or mass flow observed on the slope area and in profile sections may be due to slide along
the fissured slope. The present landslide is an activation of an older slide and overlaps the
latter near the toe.
3.3 Remote Sensing
The Rawana Landslide area has been studied using multi-temporal and multi-resolution
satellite images using both visual and image analysis techniques. LISS-III image and high
resolution images of Google (2010-2011) have been studied to capture the regional
disposition of major tectonic features as well as for understanding the relationship of
lineaments with the drainage system. High resolution satellite data available through
Google Earth (Figure 4) has been examined for the geometry of the landslide and its
relationship with lineaments.
The Rawana Landslide is closely associated with NW-SE trending linear Giri Thrust, a
major tectonic feature that dominates the geological disposition of the area. The location of
heat and gas emanation/oozing of hot water are close to the proximity of foot-wall side of
the Giri Thrust.
Presence of a NE-SW trending planar lineament, orthogonal to the Giri Thrust, which
dissects the landslide mass on its SE extreme (Figure 4) and rendering the western portion

451
to go down compared with the eastern part, and resulting in the formation of a prominent
scarp on the western side facilitating the slide.
Fig. 4 3D view of the project area showing a NE-SW trending

lineament dissecting the Rawana Landslide mass on its SE extreme
The impacts of the landslide are manifested in the subsidence of agricultural and
pasture land, which are affecting the livelihood of the villagers. Some additional area,
especially within the concentric circle of the slide-scarps, is likely to be lost in future.
4 CONCLUSION
The field observations and the investigations carried out show that Rawana Landslide,
located on the right bank of Giri River, is an old slide whose downstream part become
active in the recent past. Essentially it is a toe driven slide and its main causative factor is
the continuous erosion of its toe by the Giri River. As a result its slope has continuously
been disturbed by the Giri River. It is further aided by the structural set up, weak lithology
and little or no overburden left on the slope. Initially the overburden might have been
involved in sliding and later the weathered rock became involved due to continued erosion
of the toe. The continued action of the river eroded the toe as a result of which the
equilibrium got disturbed giving way to the slide and its head-ward progression. The
process was further escalated by the action of water (rain and seepages), which increased
the density of the sliding mass and its mobility. Likewise, the crown region got disturbed
and lost its equilibrium and was destabilized. The slide zone has been advancing laterally
and also towards the crown front, as a result of which it has engulfed the fields and houses
of the Upper Rawana village and endangering the adjacent fields.

452
References
Auden, J.B., (1934). Geology of the Krol Belt. Rec. Geol. Surv. India, vol. 67(4), pp. 357-
454.
Bichler, A., Bobrowsky, P., Best, M., Douma, M., Hunter, J., Calvert, T., and Burns, R.,
(2004). Three-dimensional mapping of a landslide using multigeophysical approach:
the Quesnel Forks landslide; Landslide, 1 (1), 29 – 40.
Bogoslovsky, V.A. and Ogilvy, A.A.: (1977). Geophysical methods for the investigation of
landslides, Geophysics 42, 562– 571.
Caris, J.P.T., Van Asch, T.W.J., (1991). Geophysical, geotechnical and hydrological
investigations of a small landslide in the French Alps, Engineering Geology, 31 (3 – 4),
249 – 276.
Hack. Robert, (2001). Geophysics for slope stability, Surveys in Geophysics, 21, 423 – 488
Israil, Mohammad. and Pachauri. A.K., (2003). Geophysical characterization of a
landslide site in the Himalayan foothill region, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 22,
253– 263.
Lapena, V., Lorenzo, P., Perrone, A. and Piscitelli, S., (2003). High Resolution
Geoelectrical tomographies in the study of Giarrossa landslide (southern Italy); Bull.
Eng. Geol. Env., 62, 259 – 268.
Mills, H.H., (1990). Thickness and character of regolith on mountain slopes in the vicinity
of Mountain Lake, Virginia, as indicated by seismic refraction and implication for hill
slope evaluation. Geomorphology. 3 (2), 143 – 157.

453
S.K. Mittal, Manjeet
Landslide SinghMitigation
Hazard and Bhoop Singh
Monitoring of Jhakri (Bari Village) Landslide Site in

Himachal Pradesh
S.K. Mittal1, Manjeet Singh2 and Bhoop Singh3
1
CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandiragh
2
CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandiragh
3
Department of Science & Technology (DST), New Delhi
e-mail: skmskm1@rediffmail.com
ABSTRACT: The occurrence of landslides is quite common on natural slopes and geo-
dynamically active region showing high degree of rock instability. A slope failure is developed
due to progressive external loads and deteriorations of slope geo-materials and is major cause of
landslides. In our country, till date, some research institutes are carrying out scattered efforts to
analyse the landslide hazards. Landslide analysis is too complex and needs systematic studies.
CSIR-CSIO is pursuing a research on instrumental monitoring of landslide and developing
prediction algorithms. Under this research a part of Jhakri (Bari village) landslide is
instrumented in May 2012, and real time data is being acquired round the clock. Installed
instrumentation is modular & two-tier structured system. It is observed that monitoring network
will be populated with more sensors and three-four years data will be acquired to develop and
validate prediction algorithms.
1 INTRODUCTION
It is mentioned in a world bank report, 2005 that 3.7 million squares kilometers of land area
of the globe is exposed to landslides and the population exposed to it is 300 million i.e. 5% of
world population. Area of the order of about 8,20,000 km2 is identified under high risk category,
covering a population of 66 million at high risk. It has been observed that Asia is the worst
affected continent due to landslides and within the Asian countries, South Asian countries are
more affected and even among the South Asian countries, India is the most affected. The
occurrence of landslides is quite common on natural slopes and geo-dynamically active region
showing high degree of rock instability. Mountain regions of India are facing the serious
problem of landslides, which cause disruption of road and rail traffic besides loss of precious
human lives. A slope failure is developed due to progressive external loads and deteriorations of
slope geo-materials. This progressive and dynamic development results in occurrence of
landslides. About 25% of the India’s landmass (~0.82 million square kilometers) is prone to
landslides. These unstable hill slopes are spread across 22 states and 2 UTs to varying extent. In
India, the Himalayan states suffer more due to landslide compared to western ghats, Niligiris etc.
Some of the studies have indicated that on an average, a landslide occurs at almost every two
kilometers along the highways in Himalayan terrain. Landslide analysis is too complex
involving a multitude of factors which needs to be studied systematically. In our country, till
date, some research institutes are carrying out only scattered efforts by using a few imported
instruments to measure only some parameters of landslides. As such, there are no organized
scientific efforts to acquire good quality instrumental data and its real time analysis for issuing
early warnings to handle this natural hazard.

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Monitoring of Jhakri (Bari Village) Landslide Site in Himachal Pradesh
The loss of human lives and properties are directly associated with unpredictive nature of
landslide hazard. So systematic instrumental monitoring and prediction are the need of the
society for landslide hazard mitigation. In this regard, CSIR-CSIO is pursuing a project
sponsored by Department of Science & Technology (DST), New Delhi on slope stability
analysis and development of early warning system. Under this research work a part of landslide
site at Bari village, Jhakri (H.P.) has been instrumented in May 2012.
2 JHAKRI LANDSLIDE SITE AND ITS MONITORING
2.1 Landslide study area
The instrumented Jhakri landslide site is located at longitude (77º41’ 43” E) & latitude
(31º29’08” N) and lies near Rampur in the Satluj valley of Himachal Pradesh. Structurally the
landslide is located near to the main central thrust and East-west trending Nogli Fault Gill
(2011). The most characteristic features of the geology of this region are that the rocks of
unfossiliferous and reverse metamorphism. Strata of instrumented site is overburden slipped
mass which is predominantly comprised of quartz mica schist big slipped boulders, mica schist
broken rock pieces set in matrix of sand, silty sand and mica schist fines Mittal and Singh (2012)
. A Google Earth view of the study area is given in Fig. 1.
2.2 Landslide monitoring instrumentation network
Installed landslide monitoring instrumentation Mittal et al. (2008), Mittal et al. (2009a),
Mittal et al. (2009b), system is designed as two-tier structured modular system and its block
diagram is given in Fig. 2.
Study Area
Fig. 1 Google Earth image showing study area.

455
S.K. Mittal, Manjeet Singh and Bhoop Singh
GSM
Modem
&
S -
S - GSM
Conditioning
Modem
Data
Signal
S - &
Acquisition
System
S -
Field Station Solar Panel & Control Station
Fig. 2 Block diagram of landslide monitoring instrumentation network.

It consists of a series of geotechnical sensors: Piezometer, Raingauge, Total earth pressure
cell, Crackmeter, Tiltmeter & Inclinometer; located within the landslide zone. Data acquisition
unit and solar power station are kept in nearby stable area. This cluster of instrumentation is
named as field station (FS). Piezometer is installed at 50 meter depth. Inclinometer casing is 50
meter deep which crosses the NH22 elevation level. FS is also equipped with GSM/GPRS
modem to communicate with Control Station (CS) at situated at CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh.
Complete instrumentation was made operational in May 2012. CS allows the remote, automated
management of FS over GSM/GPRS interface & retrieves recorded data and analyses it. To
monitor the whole landslide area; more numbers of sensors can be interfaced to existing FS and
also more FS can be configured & linked with CS.
Fig. 3 A View of instrumented landslide site from SJVNL guest house side

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Monitoring of Jhakri (Bari Village) Landslide Site in Himachal Pradesh
Fig. 4 A View of instrumented landslide site from Rampur side hill

2.3 Recorded data and observations
Data of rain gauge, piezometer, total earth pressure cell and crackmeter is recorded at six
hour interval in real time mode from May 2012 to March 2013. Graphs showing the change in
recorded parameter shown in Fig. 5. It is evident from the graph that in the middle of monsoon
season crack was widened by one millimetre but now change occurred in pore pressure.
Fig. 5 Graph showing change in recorded pore pressure,

total earth pressure, rainfall and crack.

457
S.K. Mittal, Manjeet Singh and Bhoop Singh
3 CONCLUSIONS
As per the field investigations carried out at the study area and results of various index tests
carried out on strata samples collected during borehole drilling, it is observed that strata is
overburden slipped mass which is predominantly comprised of quartz mica schist big slipped
boulders, mica schist broken rock pieces set in matrix of sand, silty sand and mica schist fines.
The sub soil water level in the drill holes was not encountered upto the drilled depths of 50m.
Also no significant change in piezometric pressure at 50 meter depth throughout the monsoon
season is recorded. But progressive movement at 7.5 m depth along EW axis in inclinometer
casing is noticed. There is a need to populate the FS with more piezometers at different depths
and more inclinometer casings. After that data for three-four years will be recorded to develop &
validate early warning algorithm.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors are thankful to Director CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh for giving free hand for execution
of research work and also thankful to Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of
India, New Delhi for funding this project.
REFERENCES
Gill G.S. (2011), “Surveying and mapping of the landslide prone area between Rampur and
Jhakri along the National Highway NH-22 in Himachal Pradesh”, A preliminary project
report, Geology Department, Punjab University, Chandigarh.
Mittal S. K. and Singh M. (2012),“Geo-technical logging and in-situ strata test results of drill
holes at Instrumented Jhakri (H.P.) landslide site”, CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh.
Mittal S.K., Singh M., Kapur P., Sharma B.K. and Shamshi M.A.. (2008) “Design and
development of instrumentation for landslide monitoring and issue an early warning”,
Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research (JSIR), Vol. 67, pp 361-365.
Mittal S.K., Singh M., Sardana H.K. and Dhingra S. (2009a),“Realization and Installation of
Landslides Instrumentation Network at Mansa Devi (Haridwar)”, Indian Landslide, Vol. 2,
No. 1, pp 43 – 50.
Mittal S.K., Singh M., Sardana H.K. and Dhingra S. (2009b), “Instrumental Monitoring of
Mansa Devi Landslide Site and Interpretation of Data”, Indian Geotechnical Journal,
39(3), pp 317-327.

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Landslide Monitoring
Landslide Systems
Hazard - An Overview
Mitigation
Landslide Monitoring Systems - An Overview

Nirmala Vasudevan, Arun Balakrishnan and Maneesha V. Ramesh
1
Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University), Amritapuri, Kollam, Kerala
e-mail:nirmalav@am.amrita.edu, arunkumar@am.amrita.edu, maneesha@am.amrita.edu
ABSTRACT: A landslide is a disaster which causes rampant loss to life, property and
ecosystems. With increased awareness and technological development, the number of
monitoring stations near hazardous regions has increased. To give a warning prior to the
occurrence of a landslide, the soil/rock mechanics of the underlying bed needs to be studied and
understood. This paper examines the current literature and elucidates some features of state-of-
the-art landslide monitoring systems.
1. INTRODUCTION
Advancements in technology have helped us understand nature better than before, yet the
geotechnical parameters causing a landslide cannot be quantified accurately. The efforts taken in
predicting landslides are clearly moving towards this objective and this can be seen by the
number of monitoring stations that have been setup in landslide prone areas around the world.
The data that is obtained at each location is important in understanding landslides. Each location
is unique in terms of soil properties, groundwater, inclination of the slope and weather
conditions and consequently, each deployment is unique.
The rest of this paper aims to examine the instrumentation used in successful deployments
around the globe. This paper is organized as follows. The following section talks about
landslides and landslide prone areas in India. Section 3talks about the current geotechnical
instrumentation and their merits. Following that, in Section 4 we talk about the influence of
rainfall on landslides. In Section 5 we talk mainly about rainfall and pore pressure correlation. In
Section 6 we discuss the relevance of different systems for different scenarios and then conclude
this paper.
2. LANDSLIDES IN INDIA
Landslide hazards affect about 15% of India, covering over 0.49 million square kilometres.
The landslides occur especially in the Himalayan belt and the Western Ghats region, and nearly
22 states are affected by landslide hazards (Fig. 1). The landslides that occur in the Himalayan
belt are far more dangerous in terms of frequency of occurrence. The Himalayan belt is an active
seismic zone, and during heavy rainfall is especially vulnerable to landslides. Some major
incidents that have happened in the past are the massive landslides that occurred on the 11th and
17th of August 1998 when nearly 380 people were killed. The heap of the debris formed was as
high as 15m. An approximate number of 500 human lives were lost in the year 2005 alone
(Disaster Management in India 2011).

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Fig. 1 Landslide hazard zones in India (Source: BMPTC1)

(1BuildingMaterials & Technology Promotion Council,
Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India)
The month of September 2012 saw many landslides and rockslides in the Himalayan belt, in
the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.
More than 300000 people were displaced. Landslides cause damages to roads, highways,
property and lives. To make matters worse, pilgrims visit the places of religious importance
during the monsoon periods of August and September, when the frequency of landslides is at its
peak. The pilgrims become stranded with all the communication and land routes blocked or
washed away. It is estimated that 30% of the world’s landslides occur in the Himalayas.
Landslides are common in the Western Ghats as well. In the Nilgiris, in 1978 alone, close to
a hundred landslides occurred, causing severe damage to communication lines, tea gardens and
other cultivated crops. A valley in the Nilgiris is called Avalanches Valley. A rough estimate of
the monetary loss in India due to landslides is of the order of 12 crore to 150 crore per annum
(National Disaster Management Guidelines 2009, Disaster Management in India 2011).
3 INSTRUMENTATION
There are many factors that can cause the occurrence of a landslide, depending upon the
nature of the soil, rainfall pattern and human activity (Crudenand Varnes1996). Different

460
locations require different sensors suitable for that particular location. Some of the principal
parameters that need to be monitored continuously are:
 Rainfall
 Groundwater conditions
 Soil movement
There are different instruments that are used to measure these parameters. Some of them are
discussed in the following subsections.
3.1 Rainfall
Rainfall is a recognized trigger for landslides, and some monitoring stations simply record
the precipitation and predict the occurrence of landslides, as discussed further in Section 4.
Rainfall can be measured using the tipping bucket rain gauge, and this is one of the most widely
used equipment. The resolution of the tip can be as low as 0.2 mm(USGS – United States
Geological Survey – web references).
3.2 Groundwater Conditions
Fig. 2 Dielectric Moisture Sensor Fig. 3 Piezometers Fig. 4 Water Potential Sensor
Investigation into groundwater conditions is crucial in understanding landslide phenomena.

Rainwater infiltration rate, soil moisture and pore water pressure are important parameters that
need to be measured or monitored. Several devices are used to determine infiltration rate, such
as permeameters (specifically, disc, Guelph, and cone permeameters) and infiltrometers
(specifically, single-ring, double-ring, tension and Guelphin filtrometers). Both single-ring and
double-ring infiltrometers only measure infiltration under ponded (saturated) conditions. So,
whenthese instruments are used in soil with distinct macro pores, preferential flow will dominate
– however, this preferential flow often does not accurately reflect rainwater infiltration.Tension
infiltrometers, on the other hand, are designed to measure the unsaturated hydraulic properties of
soils. Tension infiltro meters maintain a small negative pressure on the water as it infiltrates
through the soil, and consequently water infiltrates at a slower rate than when it is ponded on the
soil surface. Bagarello and Sgroi (2004) describe a study in which single-ring infiltrometers were
installed permanently in the field for a study period of 1.5 years.
Soil moisture can be measured using a dielectric moisture sensor (Ramesh and
Vasudevan2011, Ramesh 2012). This instrument (Fig. 2) measures the dielectric constant of the

461
soil, which is higher in the presence of moisture. While monitoring data from an Amrita
University deployment in Munnar (Ramesh and Vasudevan2011), it was observed that, as the
rain persists, the dielectric moisture sensors installed at the toe of the hill show constant
saturated values, while at the crown of the hill the sensor readings fluctuate with rainfall
intensity.
Pore water pressure is the pressure exerted by water present in the soil. This pressure is
measured with respect to the ground water table. The water table is the surface where the water
pressure head is equal to the atmospheric pressure, or the gauge pressure is zero. However, the
soil may remain saturated even above the water table due to the capillary action of the soil.
When water continues to seep into soil in the event of heavy rainfall, the water table rises. The
pore pressure of thewater increases. This increase in pressure can be measured by pressure
sensors such as,
 Piezometer
 Water Potential Sensor
 Tensiometer
Piezometers can be grouped into those that have a diaphragm between the transducer and
the pore water and those that do not. Instruments in the first group are piezometers with
pneumatic, vibrating wire and electrical resistance with strain gauge transducers (Fig. 3).
Instruments in the second group are open stand pipe and twin type hydraulic piezometers. The
vibrating wire piezometer can measure negative pore pressures, up to –50kPa. Although some
pneumatic piezometers can measure negative pressures, they are generally unsuitable for this
purpose (Dunnicliff 1993, Mikkelsen and Green 2003).
Normally, to determine negative water pressures, a water potential sensor (Fig. 4) or a
tensiometer (Fig. 5) is used. Both these sensors measure the matric water potential, which
quantifies the tendency of water to move from one area to another due to matric effects such as
surface tension. (The other three distinct components of the water potential are the osmotic,
gravimetric and pressure components. In unsaturated soils, the matric potential and osmotic
potential are important. The matric potential arises from the cohesive forces between the water
and the soil particles, while the osmotic potential arises from dissolved solutes (salts) in the soil
water. In anon-saline soil, the osmotic potential is negligible.)
3.3 Soil Movement
Fig. 5 Tensiometers Fig. 6 Inclinometer Fig. 7 Strain Gauges fixed

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to a vertical column
The movement of a mass of rock, debris or earth down aslope is defined as a landslide
(Cruden 1991). This movement originates at some depth below the surface of the soil; this is
called the slip surface. When the landslide occurs, the cohesive force that holds the soil together
at the slip surface becomes weak. So the examination of the geologic materials of the soil
becomes very important, even though landslides occur in virtually any kind of geologic material.
Some of the instruments that are used to monitor the slope movement are
 Inclinometer or Tiltmeter
 Accelerometer
 Strain gauge
 Extensometer
 Time Domain Reflectometer
 Geophone
Determining the depth and thickness of the shear zone is instrumental in determining the
extent of damage a landslide can cause. Also, observing an initial slow movement along the
slope could be critical in issuing a warning before hand. Inclinometers in casings are installed
vertically in boreholes, and any movement in the soil causes the inclinometer casing to bend.
Inclinometers are used to monitor slope movements and determine the slip or shear surface
(Lollino et al. 2002). They come in two types, traversing-type inclinometers (Fig. 6) and the in-
place or stationary inclinometers (Transportation Research Circular 2008).
Accelerometers can measure both dynamic acceleration and static tilt. Most modern
accelerometers, especially those used in the geotechnical field, are MEMS (micro electro-
mechanical systems) based devices. Some research groups (e.g. Kotta et al. 2011)have used
surface mounted accelerometers for discrete surface based movement detection of a landslide,
with limited results. These systems employ the dynamic acceleration component of
accelerometer output data and require extensive signal processing techniques to filter out noise,
spurious signals and to isolate movement event data.
High quality MEMS accelerometers are also one of the types of sensing elements used
inside inclinometers to sense the tilt angle of the inclinometer. The advantage of MEMS sensors
is their low-cost and small size. Previously, angular resolutions were low for accelerometer
based inclinometers, but they are improving and are now comparable in performance with some
of the other sensing technologies. Another type of commonly used sensing element is the
electrolytic or "bubble" tiltmeter.
Another way of determining soil movement is by the use of strain gauges. In Ramesh and
Vasudevan (2011), columns, with strain gauges fitted at strategic positions on their outer
surfaces (Fig. 7), were deployed to determine soil movement. This installation is much cheaper
than using an inclinometer or a tiltmeter, because strain gauges are relatively inexpensive. The
disadvantage of this installation is the need to calibrate the sensor reading to match the bending
of the column. There is also an increase in the number of wires from the sensor-embedded
column to the interfacing circuits.
An extensometer is used to determine the change in the length of an object (Fig. 9). The
fixed end of the extensometer is anchored to stable ground, while the moveable sensor arm is
attached to the unstable region. In case of non-contact type extensometers, either laser or
videography is used to capture the surface (in laser or light), and the surface’s tensile and
compression deformation is measured. In the case of landslides the contact type extensometer is

463
used, owing to the size of the area that needs to be monitored.

Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) is a relatively new concept which has been explored to
determine slope stability. This instrument is used to locate faults in metallic cables. In landslide
systems, a metallic wire or fiber optic cable can be lowered down into a column and placed in a
mixture of grout. With the soil movement, the metallic wire or fiber optic cable in the column
also experiences a bend. Using TDR the location of the soil movement can be determined. This
is a promising and inexpensive way of monitoring soil movement.
Fig. 8 Single-axis geophone Fig. 9 Wire and sensor arm extensometers
Pore pressure and soil movement are important parameters and can be viewed as analogous
to the 1st and 2ndorder moments of a dataset. Just as these statistics give a fair idea about how the
data could be oriented, these parameters can be considered as fair indicators of the soil
conditions inthat particular location.
3.4 Photogrammetric and Remote Sensing Techniques
The instruments discussed so far capture geotechnical parameters of the subsurface soil to
predict impending landslides. The deployment of a landslide monitoring system is expensive. It
might take time to setup such systems, and moreover these systems are often deployed in
locations where landslides have happened in the past. So, invariably the first landslide and the
associated loss are inevitable. To circumvent this disadvantage, much literature is available
which suggests the effective use of remote sensing and satellite monitoring (Savvaidis 2003).
These topics are beyond the scope of this paper, but the authors would like to highlight the fact
that even though remote sensing and satellite monitoring are applicable in theory, the following
points undermine their use on a site (such as Munnar) that is vulnerable to sudden landslides.
 The repeat cycle of the remote sensing satellites is suitable for slow moving landslides,
but is far less than what is necessary for continuous monitoring of regions that could
experience catastrophic and sudden landslides.

464
 Deployment of GPS enabled devices at the site have limited accuracy and are not as
sensitive as the other movement sensors described above. GPS enabled devices can
more easily detect slow moving landslides, while landslides that occur with torrential
downpour are much more difficult to detect.
Some deployments use ground based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to track the slope
continually. Casagli (2003) describes ground based SAR inter ferometry that was used in the
aftermath of the Cortenova landslide, in the Italian Alps. GPS and SAR based systems only
monitor the surface of the landslide and have no ability to determine the subsurface conditions.
In addition, in order for SAR to function, radio waves must be bounced off a reflective surface.
Rock and bare soil surfaces reflect well, while vegetation does not. Thus, if a hill side is largely
covered with vegetation, then corner reflectors, which are large and precisely shaped geometric
reflectors made of metal, must be installed at select locations on the hill to reflect back the SAR
radio waves. However, only these discrete points can then be measured for movement.As such,
GPS and SAR based systems are often used in conjunction with other instruments.
4 MONITORING SYSTEMS WITH RAINFALL THRESHOLDS
Rainfall is a well known landslide trigger. As the saturation of the soil increases, the
likelihood of a land slide occurrence increases. The land becomes unstable due to the buildup of
pore pressure within the soil. The rate of pore pressure buildup depends upon the geotechnical
properties of the soil. These can vary both between locations within the same site and between
different sites.
In countries where mountains that are prone to land slides are many, it is infeasible to drill
all the landslide prone regions to install instrumentation. So, to employ a more feasible method,
rainfall threshold methods are studied, which do not require any invasive study of the soil
(Ramesh and Ushakumari 2008).
Installing a monitoring system in a country such as Italy, which has faced about
9000landslides in the last 80 years, requires extensive coverage using sensors and monitoring
stations. In this case, it is more convenient to also rely on rainfall thresholds taken from similar
regions of landslide activity. The rainfall thresholds that are usually discussed in the literature
are empirical in nature, that is, data is collected from regions where landslides have occurred in
the past and a lower bound on the data is calculated. The most common type of threshold is the
Intensity-Duration threshold (IRPI – Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica or
Research Institute for Hydro geological Protection – web reference) and it is usually of the form
𝐼 = 𝑐 + 𝑎𝐷� (1)
where𝐼 is the rainfall intensity, 𝐷 is the rainfall durationand 𝑎, 𝑐 and 𝛽 are all non-zero
parameters. To calculate the thresholds and express them in a comparable manner, the rainfall
intensity is normalized by dividing it with the Mean Annual Precipitation for that region.
Many different thresholds have been evaluated – some local thresholds, some continental
and some global. Currently there are more than 150 thresholds available in the literature
(Guzzetti et al. 2007, Chien-Yuan et al. 2005,Aleotti 2004, Caine 1980, Onodera et al. 1974).The
IRPI web reference presents a comprehensive list of all thresholds that are currently present in
the literature. This staggering number of rainfall thresholds can be easily explained by the
diversity of each individual location ,in terms of climate, man-made development and
occasionally natural calamities. In fact, it is not surprising that even a single region can have

465
different rainfall thresholds that trigger landslides during the different seasons of the year. The
nature of the soil plays a key role. Sometimes water that infiltrates through the soil accumulates
in the soil, while other times this water drains away. Thus, the probability of a landslide depends
on the antecedent rainfall, but the extent of this dependence is again dictated by the nature of the
soil. So, it is essential to know the kind of soil present in the region.
A system called SIGMA uses the rainfall threshold from a test site in Northern Italy to
predict any landslide within Italy. In systems such as this, as the observation period increases,
the prediction accuracy increases. Also, monitoring a wider area is helpful, since significantly
more data is accumulated, making the system more robust. It is important to note here that
rainfall threshold based systems can only be reliably established with extensive data collection
and landslide records over many years.
5 UNDERSTANDING SENSOR DATA
After equipment has been installed, the sensors begin measuring various geotechnical
parameters and relay the data to monitoring stations. Making sense of the data can be crudely
called data analysis. There are two ways of approaching this problem; the superior approach is
geotechnical; that is, extracting soil samples, understanding the composition and profiling the
underground soils, and then coming to an understanding about the nature of the soil to draw
conclusions.
The second approach is a statistical one, wherein the changes in the sensor data are
quantified and conclusions are drawn. To illustrate the latter approach, we may consider just the
rainfall and pore water pressure data. A realistic assumption, namely that the pressure buildup
within the soil is due to rainfall, is made. Now the question to be asked is what is the response
time of the pressure buildup to the rainfall intensity? This can be answered by calculating the
maximum correlation over time. Equation 2, which calculates this statistical correlation ,is
estimated for various values of τ ranging from 0 to ∞.However, this function attains a maximum
for a particular value of τ, which is the response time of the corresponding sensor. Based on this
approach, an understanding of the soil can be obtained (Lollinoet al. 2006).
𝐶�� (𝜏) = ∑� �� 𝑥(𝑡)𝑦(𝑡 − 𝜏) (2)
The correlation functions for different combinations of sensor data can be obtained, and
from these correlations, certain conclusions may be drawn.
So far, the number of successful landslide predictions are still far less than the number of
landslides that occur. Even though warnings are issued, they are usually issued within a large
window of probability, making the predictions weak. The best system need not necessarily be in
terms of quality of the equipment alone, but should ensure that the predictions are accurate. The
objective of the problem should be clear, which is to minimize the loss of lives, property and
ecosystems.
In mountains, such as the Himalayas, where the soil is not very compact, the drilling of
holes into the mountain, to investigate subsurface conditions and install equipment within the
soil, is more difficult. Care has to be given to soil sampling, safety of the drilling team and
preventing the collapse of boreholes. In such cases the use of ground based SAR, GPS or rainfall
thresholds can be employed as supplementary methods for monitoring and predicting landslides.
These systems do not monitor the subsurface conditions and therefore can only provide limited
warnings.

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Table 1 Instrumentation Overview

Instrumentation Parameters Measured Comments
Rain Gauge Rainfall intensity and duration
Can be easily installed at shallow depths,
Dielectric Moisture Sensor Soil water content
unrealistic to deploy below depths of 2m
Can be used at ground surface (e.g.certain
Infiltrometer/Permeameters Groundwater infiltration rate tension infiltrometers) or in boreholes
(e.g. borehole permeameters)
Strain gauge Generally unsuited for measuring
Positive pore water pressure
type negative pore water pressures
Piezomete Can measure negative pore water
r Vibrating wire pressures up to –50kPa, requires VW
Pore water pressures
type excitation and signal conditioning
electronics
Can measure negative pore water
Negative pore water pressures
Water Potential Sensor pressures up to –500kPa, generally less
(soil matric potential)
accurate than tensiometers
Negative pore water pressures
Tensiometer
(soil matric potential)
Surface and subsurface slope
Inclinometer/Tiltmeter
movement
Surface and subsurface slope
Strain Gauge Correlation with slope movement needed
movement
Extensometer Surface movement
Time Domain Surface and subsurface slope Only at discrete points, requires
Reflectometer movement sophisticated electronics
High bandwidth continuous sampling rate
Geophone Seismic vibrations
required
GPS Surface slope movement Only at discrete points
Ground Based SAR and Entire slope/discreet points, depending
Surface slope movement
LIDAR upon the terrain
6 DISCUSSION
Some noteworthy landslide monitoring systems are briefly described in this section. These
systems use a combination of the sensors discussed earlier in this paper.
The Amrita University system was the first comprehensive wireless sensor network (WSN)
based landslide monitoring system. The monitoring system deploys approximately 150 sensors
that include piezometers, dielectric moisture sensors, strain gauges, tiltmeters, geophones (Fig.
8) and a weather station (Ramesh and Vasudevan 2011, Ramesh 2012). The Amrita system has
been collecting data continuously since 2009 and has issued landslide warnings.
Turtle Mountain, Canada, which had seen a catastrophic landslide in 1903, has a monitoring
system in place. The system consists of tiltmeters, surface-wire extensometers and crack gauges

467
as the primary reliable sensors. A secondary set of sensors include prisms with distance
measurements and single-frequency GPS receivers. This system also monitors the rain, wind,
temperature and barometric pressure in the region. Subsurface micro seismic sensors and surface
passive micro-seismic stations (geophones) are in place to locate the potential sliding mass.
Vibrating wire piezometer and thermistors are also installed to measure pore-pressure and
temperature in the soil (Moreno and Froese2005).
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has monitoring stations deployed at various
landslide prone mountains such as Highway 50 (California), Chalk Cliff (Colarado), Lincoln
County, Eliot State Forest and Portland (Oregon). These monitoring stations record the
precipitation using a tipping bucket rain gauge and the pore pressure using both vibrating wire
and strain gauge type piezometers. In the state of Oregon, water potential sensors and
tensiometers are used along with piezometers to monitor the pore pressure. Other sensors that
are installed to aid the monitoring systems are geophones and extensometers (contact-type).
Additionally, Chalk Cliff, Colorado, has a video camera installed to oversee the mountain, which
sends feed continuously to the base station (USGS web reference1).
There are numerous monitoring stations in Italy, where steep mountains and hills cover over
75 percent of the country. The monitoring systems range from entirely relying on
instrumentation to systems using rainfall thresholds. The instrumentation usually involves a
combination of sensors such as piezometers, tiltmeters, surface extensometers and strain gauges
for monitoring debris flow. SAR and GPS based systems are also used. Videography is also used
in places to monitor the region continuously. Local rainfall thresholds are a reliable metric used
to issue landslide warnings in the region. The SIGMA and MoniFLaIR monitoring systems in
Italy are examples of monitoring systems that rely only on rainfall thresholds.
7 CONCLUSION
The objective of any landslide monitoring system is to predict impending landslides as
accurately as possible. This paper provides a fairly exhaustive list of sensors, but there is active
on-going research to develop sensors that are smaller, easier-to-deploy, more accurate and
sensitive, longer-lasting and inexpensive. For the design, deployment and sustained operation of
an effective landslide monitoring system, expertise is needed in several disciplines such as
geology, hydrology, soil mechanics; instrumentation, mechanical, electrical, electronics and
communication engineering, and computer science; statistics and modelling. An effective
landslide monitoring system has substantial benefits – the vast amounts of data that can be
collected provide a deep understanding of landslide phenomena and subsurface hydro-geological
processes. The public can be alerted in the event of an impending landslide, and human lives can
be saved.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to acknowledge the motivation and inspiration that our team derives
from our beloved Chancellor, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, whose vision and direction have
been instrumental in the establishment of our Center.
The authors would like to thank the landslide team members Mr. Joshua D Freeman, Mr.
Sangeeth Kumar, Mr. VijayanSelvan, Mr. Mukundan T Raman and Dr. Venkat P Rangan for
their valuable assistance. The authors are also thankful to the Department of Science and
Technology (DST) of the Government of India for their funding in part towards this project.

468
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RL (eds) Landslides: investigation and mitigation (Special Report). Washington, DC, USA:
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Guzzetti F., Peruccacci S., Rossi M. and Stark C.P.(2007), “Rainfall thresholds for the initiation
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Lollino G., Arattano M., and Cuccureddu M.(2002), “The use of the automatic inclinometric
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meteorological events”, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 6, pp 179-184
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Survey, Turtle Mountain Field Laboratory Monitoring and Research Summary Report
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Japan”. In: Proc. of the 2nd Int. Congress of the Int. Assoc. of Eng. Geology. Sao Paulo,
Brazil,11: 1-10
Ramesh M.V. and Vasudevan N.(2011), “The deployment of deep-earth sensor probes for
landslide detection”, Landslides, 9.4 pp 457-474
Ramesh M.V.(2012), “Design, Development, and Deployment of a Wireless Sensor Network for
Detection of Landslides”, Ad Hoc Networks

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Ramesh M.V. and Ushakumari P.(2008), “Threshold based data aggregation algorithm to detect
rainfall induced landslides”, Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Wireless
Networks (ICWN’08), CSREA Press, Vol. 1
Kotta, H. Z., RanteloboK., TenaS. andKlauG.(2011), “Wireless sensor network for landslide
monitoring in nusatenggaratimur”,TELKOMNIKA Indonesian J. of Elec. Eng. 9.1: 9-18
Savvaidis P.D. (2003),“Existing Landslide Monitoring Systems and Techniques”, School of
Rural and Surveying Engineering, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, From Stars to
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Turner A.K., Schuster R.L.(1996), “Landslides: Investigation and Mitigation”, Transportation
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– 20Mar (2013)

470
Human Negligence Leads to AmparavHazard
Landslide Landslide on National Highway 87 between
Mitigation
Haldwani and Nanital in Uttaranchal State, India
Human Negligence Leads to Amparav Landslide on

National Highway 87 between Haldwani and
Nanital in Uttaranchal State, India
Pankaj Gupta1, Bhoop Singh2,Vijay Kumar Kanaujia3 and Kanwar Singh4

1
Principal Scientist, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi
2
Scientist ‘G’, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, New Delhi.
3
Senior Technical Officer CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi
4
Senior Scientist, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi
e-mail: panx22@gmail.com
Abstract: The Uttaranchal State is one of the Himalayan States of India vulnerable to high
frequency of landslides. Most of the slides occurs either due to heavy rainfall or seismic
activities. The geological and tectonic setup, high relief and meteorological conditions make the
State more prone to various natural disasters such as landslides, earthquakes, and flash floods
etc. For past two decades or so, State had experienced number of landslides besides the two
major earthquakes. The incidents of landslides are accelerated due to human negligence by way
of over-exploitation of natural recourses to meet their demands of growing population. Perhaps,
pressure of tourism and implementing of development projects like micro hydel -dams, road
construction have also increase the frequency of landslides in Uttarnchal State. Human
negligence and other reasons like toe cutting for making the road widening lead to Amparav
landslide tragedy on 23rd September 2004, on National Highway 87 from Haldwani to Nanital
in Uttaranchal State, India which could have been avoided. The present paper deals the details
of such causes and made efforts to scientifically provide better understanding to suggest suitable
preventing measures.
1. INTRODUCTION
Continuous evolution of Himalaya makes the Himalaya tectonically active. This creates the
weak litholgy along with natural geological discontinuities, major faults, folds, rugged
topography, high relief, high seismic activity etc in the Himalayan region. This setup makes the
Himalaya prone to various hazards. Landslide is one of the major hazards of Himalayan terrain
and recurring in nature. The increasing pressure of population and associated economic demands
has increased human encroachment many folds in hilly region added to the slope instability.
There are landslide examples in Indian Himalaya, which aggravated due to human error or
negligence. These landslides may be avoided or at least losses could be minimized. Amparav
landslide is one of the landslides which were aggravated due to human error and negligence. The
loss of lives and other losses may be minimized in Amparav landslide. In this paper, Amparav
landslide, losses, old practices, causes & other factors are discussed in details.
2. LOCATION
The study area ‘Amparav’ is situated on Rampur-Nainital National Highway 87 (NH-87) at
km. 102 between Hadwani and Nanital just 4 km (Fig.1) before Joylikot in Kumaun Division of

471
Pankaj Gupta, Bhoop Singh, Vijay Kumar Kanaujia and Kanwar Singh
Uttarakhand State. Area is situated SSE close to the lake city Nainital and falls in the Upper
Siwalik near the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), which mainly contains weak sedimentary rocks.
The Amparav stream is flowing through the landslide zone, where the tragedy occurred at 02.30
a.m. of 23rd September 2004 (Gupta et al., 2011).
A B
C D
LEGEND
A. Location of Uttarakhand State
B. Location of Nainital District
C. Location of Amparav Landslide
D. Panoramic View of Amparav

Landslide
Fig. 1 Location Map of the Amparav Landslide

472
Human Negligence Leads to Amparav Landslide on National Highway 87 between
3. LOSSES DUE TO THE LANDSLIDE

Amparav area where the landslide tragedy took place is a tok of Chopra Gram Sabha that
falls in the catchment of Nalena Gadhera drains into Balia Nala. Landslide brings misfortune for
many people in this area. There were loss of human lives and property too due to this landslide.
Three persons were dead in this landslide incident. Shops of seven persons were destroyed by
the landslide debris. Apart from this, landslide also ruined one of the bridle paths (more than
300m) and a bridge connecting the different toks of the Gram Sabha. Three causeways were
destroyed while water pipe and telecom lines were disrupted. Small slides, land subsidence, and
collapse of the retaining walls of the agricultural fields were also observed at many places in the
Gram Sabha. The affects of the ongoing subsidence is clearly visible on the Primary School
building of the Gram Sabha that is marred with wide open cracks (Anonymous1, 2004).
4. OLD PRACTICES
Amparav area is situated in the Upper Siwalik Himalaya close to the boundary with Lesser
Himalaya, which is marked by the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT). The area chosen for the study
consists of fragile sedimentary rocks, which are highly jointed. The area has experienced earlier,
many landslides and subsidence. The human interference with nature is also one of the major
causes for landslide in the area. Since, the area is highly susceptible to landslide; the Britishers
acquired the area permanently to stop the cultivation in this area in pre independent era. They
have implemented many precautionary measures to mitigate slope instabilities. Any attempt to
encroach upon this area was strictly opposed by the Indian administration till late seventies. But
in 80s the same was encroached upon and presently paddy cultivation is practice here. The
human interference with the natural slopes added to the instability and led to slides at many
locations in the Amparav area.
The Amparav landslide is more than century old landslide and was often reactivated, posing
serious threat to the vehicular traffic along the Kathgodam – Nainital motor road and therefore
serious interventions were taken to manage this problem during the British period (around
1920s; as suggested by the local inhabitants). It is evident that the Britishers considered this zone
as being highly sensitive to mass wastage (Rautela and Pande, 2005). In order to overcome this
problem Britishers in the pre-independence period followings work has been done.
 Resorted to diversion of the discharge of the stream draining through Amparav by
constricting diversion wall (Fig. 2).
 Cement lined drains (1.5 meters wide and 1.5 meters deep (Fig. 3) were constructed in
the lower reaches to ensuring that excessive precipitation in the catchment together
with the overflow from the diversion structure discharge safely into the main stream to
ensure the stability of the zone.
 It was anticipated that the increase of discharge of the China Gadhera due to stream
diversion may lead erosion downward side. To avoid any erosion, speed of the water
was checked a number of small waterfalls created at regular interval by constricting
retention wall throughout the China Gadhera stream till it meet the main river. The last
retention wall is about 150 feet high (Fig. 4).
 To control the erosion and avoid any infiltration into the slope from the China Gadhera
stream, entire stream bed was lined with concrete (Fig. 5).

473
 Even chute for water from road culvert to the main stream in the Amparav area are
nicely made by the locally available stones in the form of stairs to break the water
speed and sides with lined rock walls. Culverts are made up with arc work using local
rock material (Fig. 6).
 To control the bank erosion of the of the stream side, a stone masonry wall was erected
along both the banks of the stream (Fig.7).
 Red flags were placed in the area and any habitation and construction in this zone was
disallowed.
By implementation of above wonderful measures, they were able to control the landslide
problem in this area.
Fig. 2 Old Diversion Wall Fig. 3 Old Cement Lined Drain
Fig. 4 Old Last Retention Wall Fig. 5 Old Stone Masonry Wall

474
Fig. 6 Old Chute and Culvert Fig. 7 Old Chute and Culvert
5. CAUSES OF LANDSLIDE
Landslides are the part of the Himalayan environment since its origin. The equilibrium of hill
slopes depends upon the interaction of the various causative factors. There are many natural as
well as manmade factors, which are responsible for the landslides. Their resultant due to the
interaction among causative factors plays more important role in the slope instability. The
geological, hydrogeological, tectonic activities plays dominant role in mass movements and
moreover unsystematic human activities aggravates such landslide phenomena. It is found after
investigation of the study area that there are many natural causative factors and other
anthropological factors, which are responsible for the landslides (Anonymous2, 2009). These
causative factors are discussed below (Table1.)
5.1 Natural Causative Factors
Rocks exposed rocks (Sand stone, Clay stone and Mud stone) of Upper Siwalik. includes
almost same Lithology and attitude of beds, except at places due to folding. These rocks of
Upper Siwalik are not matured (Valdiya). Sand stone and Clay stones are hard in dry state and
do not have much strength in wet condition. Mud stone layers are occurring in between the
sandstone and clay stone. Virtually has no strength in wet condition. Therefore, these layers of
mud stone acting as slippery surface for failure. These rocks are highly weathered and forming
more or less homogeneous mass at lower reaches close to the NH-87. Relationship with slope
orientation and attitude plays a major role in slope stability. In case of plane/block failures at
Amparav area, Rock beds are dipping in the same direction of slope with slightly lesser dip
amount and are day lighting on the upper riches with side release joints.

475
Table.1 Important Causative Factors in Amparav Landslide Study Area

Sl. Natural Causative Anthropological Causative Factors
No. Factors
1 Weak Human Encroachment in the restricted area
Lithology
Geology
2 Structure Inadequate maintenance of old existing Remedial
Domination Measures
3 Steep Slope Deforestation
4 Land use and land Excessive irrigation in agriculture fields
cover
5 High Weathering Improper Drainage
6 Presence of Mud Stone Construction of concrete bridge with low ground
Layers clearance
7 High Seismic Zone /
Close to MBT
Study area shows, continues long steep rock slopes, more or less 400 inclined which also
contributed significantly in the slope instability. There are some areas in the study area, where
vegetation cover is less or the slopes are barren, especially in the landslide area. Amarav area
shows high weathering in the existing lithology.
Study area is falling under the highest seismic zone (zone IV). Moreover, it is very close to
the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT).
5.2 Anthropological Causative Factors
Upper reaches of the study area, close to the Amparav landslide, where trees were cut and
slope were devoid of forest. The slope erosion in the form of rills and gully can be seen.
Agricultural practices are going on in the North central part of the study area at the base of
the ridge. During the British time this area vacated to rule out impoundment, was encroached
upon and now paddy cultivation requiring water impoundment is practiced in this land.
Drainage on the road side is always an essential part of the road. If it is or poverty
maintained or not maintained at all, result into the damage road and road side failure. The
Amparav area is the witnessed for the poor maintenance of the drainage and culvert, which also
contributed to the road side failure.
Inadequate maintenance or non maintenance of old existing Remedial Measures
implemented earlier during the pre independence era.
Encroachment in the banned area for different use especially for the paddy fields in nineteen
eighties. the pounding of water for their paddy cultivation has aggravated ass wastage and
ground subsidence in the area.
Construction of concrete pedestrian bridge with low ground clearance was the main reason
for the cause of deaths during the Amparav landslide. It was favorable site for landslide material

476
to collect and dammed the upstream side. Concrete bridge could not withstand the increasing
pressure for long and uprooted and blocked the diverted stream. The impounded water with
landslide material got easy way to gush into the abandoned original stream, where, people
constructed the structures for their commercial use.
6. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
Landslides are natural hazard, which are common in Himalayan region due to its geological
and tectonic setup. Landslides are governed by the interaction of natural causative factors
mainly. But there are incidents of landslides accelerated due to human negligence and error due
to over-exploitation of natural recourses to meet their demands of growing population.
Amparav landslide is one of the such example, which is aggravated due to the human
negligence, error and over interference.
Human encroachment and inadequate maintenance of old existing Remedial Measures is one
of the cause of Amparav disaster.
Low height bridges should not be constructed to avoid such incident in future.
It is recommended to implement proper remedial measures and repair and maintain the
earlier measures.
Awareness program should be arranged time to time for the habitants, concerned government
officials etc.
Government agencies like PWD, Municipal corporation, town development department etc
should interact each other to avoid such incident in future.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, third and fourth authors are highly thankful to the Director CSIR-CRRI, New Delhi for
allowing to publish this paper.
References
Anonymous1, Report entitled “Amparav landslide tragedy of 23rd September, 2004 othe
Kathgodam-National Highway and Post – Disaster Survey in Chopra Gram Sabha of
District Nainital” published at Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (An
Autonomous Institution of the Government of Uttaranchal) Uttaranchal Secretariat, Rajpur
Road Dehradun – 248001, Uttaranchal, 27th September, 2004, pp 1-14.
Anonymous2, Report entitled “Detailed Geological, Geotechnical Investigation and
Instrumentation Monitoring at Amparav Landslide Area, Uttarakhand", Geotechnial
Engineering Division, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi., December
2009, pp 1-113.
Gutpa, P., Ganesh. J., Kanaujia. V. K., Mathur. S., and Singh. B.’ “Probable causes and remedial
measures for Amparav Landslide, Nanital Distt., Uttarakhand”, Proceedings of International
3rd Indian Rock Conference’ ‘Indo Rock’ at IIT Roorkee, India 13-15 Oct 2011, ppp. 351-
358.
Rautela, R., Pande, R. K., “Traditional inputs in Disaster Management: The Case of Amparav,
North India”, International Journal of Environmental Studies, Vol.62, N0.5, Octouber 2, 05,
pp 505-515.
Valdiya, K.S., 1980. “Geology of Kumaun Lesser Himalaya”. Wadia Institute of Himalayan
Geology, Dehradaun, India.

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Geological and Geotechnical Studies for

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Fig. 1 Different Types of Rock Slope Failures

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Fig. 2 Different Types Instabilities in Rocks due to Geological Structures

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

6. REMEDIAL MEASURES FOR ROCK SLOPE

Fig. 3 Different Types of Stabilised Rock Slope

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Geophysical Landslide Investigation and

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Fig. 1 Pseudo apparent resistivity cross-section along A-A’

Fig. 2 Geo-electrical section based on Resistivity Survey of the Rawana Landslide

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

3.2 Topographic Survey

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Fig. 4 3D view of the project area showing a NE-SW trending

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Monitoring of Jhakri (Bari Village) Landslide Site in

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Fig. 1 Google Earth image showing study area.

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Fig. 2 Block diagram of landslide monitoring instrumentation network.

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Fig. 4 A View of instrumented landslide site from Rampur side hill

Fig. 5 Graph showing change in recorded pore pressure,

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Landslide Monitoring Systems - An Overview

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Fig. 1 Landslide hazard zones in India (Source: BMPTC1)

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Investigation into groundwater conditions is crucial in understanding landslide phenomena.

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Fig. 5 Tensiometers Fig. 6 Inclinometer Fig. 7 Strain Gauges fixed

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

used, owing to the size of the area that needs to be monitored.

Fig. 8 Single-axis geophone Fig. 9 Wire and sensor arm extensometers

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Table 1 Instrumentation Overview

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

Human Negligence Leads to Amparav Landslide on

Pankaj Gupta1, Bhoop Singh2,Vijay Kumar Kanaujia3 and Kanwar Singh4

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

B. Location of Nainital District

C. Location of Amparav Landslide

D. Panoramic View of Amparav

Fig. 1 Location Map of the Amparav Landslide

INDOROCK 2013: 4th Indian Rock Conference 29-31 May 2013

3. LOSSES DUE TO THE LANDSLIDE