Natural

Disasters -
Landslides
 What are Landslides and what causes them?
A Landslide is the movement of rocks, earth, dirt or debris down a sloped section
of land. When these objects collapse and begin sliding down the sloped area, it can
be very dangerous if you are beneath or near the falling rubble.
Almost every Landslide has multiple causes. Landslides are caused by heavy rain,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, deforestation, droughts or other natural
disasters. The cause of a Landslide is usually one of these natural disasters and
gravity. When you combine both these natural occurrences with parts of land that
are already loose, it just about guarantees that there will be a Landslide.

E.G.
What does it look like?
From the photos, I can see that
Landslides kind of look like a huge
cloud of dust or dirt travelling down a
mountain or a sloped section of land.
Underneath the dust cloud is probably
all of the dirt and land making its way
down the area. There isn't always a
dust cloud, and sometimes you can
see the debris travelling.
Afterwards, the area looks like a
patch of land that has been destroyed
by something, and that it needs to
grow back.
 Where does this event occur in Australia?
Landslides mainly form on coastal mountain sides, gorges, road cuttings and quarry faces.
In Australia, Landslides mainly occur on the East Coast of Australia and in Tasmania. They can
occur anywhere, but these areas are the main places that Landslides occur in Australia.
These maps shows the
places that Landslides
are most likely to
occur in Australia.

As you can see, the red

and green dots are
mainly on the East
Coast and in Tasmania,
but there are also
some rural ones.
 Where does this event occur in the World?
The countries that have had the most fatalities from Landslides include; the mountains of
Asia, the mountains of central and south America, steep islands in the Caribbean and
South-East Asia. As you can see on the maps below, Landslides can occur anywhere in the
world, but mainly in these countries.
Compared to the rest of the world, you can see that Australia has a lot less landslides than
it looks like on the maps of Australia on the previous slide.

Self
➔ I have never ➔ There are many
experienced a
Landslide myself, but I
have seen remnants
and debris from ones
that have happened on
the side of the road
➔ I have also seen nets ➔ There are also newspaper
that prevent
Landslides on areas
that are prone to
them
Connections
Text
➔ Recently, there was a
informative books
warning and informing
people about Landslides,
where they occur and
what you can do to stay
safe and be protected
➔ The biggest Landslide in
from them
articles about Landslides
whenever they occur and
are serious. E.g. there
was recently a
devastating Landslide in
Indonesia and that
probably had a news
article in an Indonesian
newspaper
World
Landslide in the Indian
district Noney that
killed over 50 people
and caused three to go
missing
history was after the
eruption of the volcano
Mount St Helens on the
18th May 1980. When it
erupted, the entire
north face of the
mountain collapsed.
This huge Landslide
killed 57 people!
 Impact on the Environment, Humans and Animals
What impact does Landslides have on the environment, humans and animals?
Impact on Environment: Impact on Humans:
➔ If the Landslide occurs ➔ Landslides can kill or
near water, the debris injure humans
can pollute the water ➔ Landslides can destroy
➔ Landslides can destroy homes, roads,
areas of land (e.g. buildings, construction
forests or sites, underground
mountainsides) pipes, etc
➔ Landslides change how ➔ They destroy
the Earth’s surface infrastructure
looks ➔ They can pollute water
sources that we would
otherwise drink
Impact on Animals:
➔ Landslides can kill or
injure animals
➔ Landslides can pollute
animal’s homes and
habitats (e.g.they can
pollute waters where
fish live)
➔ They eliminate food
and water sources for
animals
 How do people plan for and manage this extreme event?
Many safety measures are put in place to protect people from Landslides. Some
of these include:
➔ Barriers/nets: these are placed over the sloped area to avoid Landslides
➔ Walls: these are placed at the bottom of the sloped area to catch any fallen
debris
➔ Fences

What you can do if you encounter a Landslide?

➔ Call your local police or fire station
➔ Evacuate and inform anyone who may be affected by the Landslide
➔ Create a communication and/or evacuation plan
➔ If you are caught in a Landslide: curl into a tight ball and protect your head
Photos