This course focuses on the concepts of disaster risks, hazards, vulnerability, capacity,

and application of scientific knowledge and the solution or practical problems in a

physical environment. It is designed to bridge the gap between theoretical science and
daily living.
 LESSON 5: OTHER RELATED
GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS – LANDSLIDES

Learning Outcomes
• Discuss the different hazards related to mass wasting.
• Analyze the causes landslides
• Determine mitigation strategies to prevent loss of lives and properties.

INTRODUCTION

Landslides are more widespread than any other geological event and
can occur anywhere in the world. They occur when large masses of soil,
rocks or debris move down a slope due to a natural phenomenon or
human activity. Mudslides or debris flows are also a common type of
fast-moving landslide.

This lesson will discuss about the various potential landslide hazards,
analyze some driving and resisting forces of landslides and its mitigating
measures.

Enjoy and keep reading!

ABSTRACTION

MASS WASTING/LANDSLIDES

• Also known as slope instability

• The downslope movement of earth material: soil, debris, or rock,
under the influence of gravity, aided or unaided by water
HOW DO WE CLASSIFY LANDSLIDES?

PARAMETERS USED IN THE CLASSIFICATION:

• type of movement (fall, topple, slide, flow)

• material removed (soil, debris, rock)
• geometry of moving mass (length, width, depth)
• velocity of the movement
• water content (dry, wet, saturated)

Figure 1. Some Types of Mass Wasting

1. Rockfall

• occur when a piece of rock on a steep slope becomes dislodged and

falls down the slope; may be a single rock or a mass of rocks, and the
falling rocks can dislodge other rocks as they collide with the cliff;
since it involves the free fall of material, falls commonly occur where
there are steep cliffs; at the base of most cliffs is an accumulation of
fallen material termed talus.
2. Debris fall

• similar to rock falls, except they involve a mixture of soil, regolith,

vegetation, and rocks
• debris - broken and detached fragments, taken collectively;
especially, fragments detached from a rock or mountain, and piled up
at the base.

3. Topple

• the end-over-end motion of rock down a slope

• Topple failures involve the forward rotation and movement of a
mass of rock, earth or debris out of a slope.
• This kind of slope failure generally occurs around an axis (or point) at
or near the base of the block of rock.
4. Slump

• complex movement of materials on a slope; includes rotational slump

• A slump is a type of mass wasting that results in the sliding of coherent
rock materials along a curved surface.
5. Slide

• movement parallel to planes of weakness and occasionally parallel to

slope
• can either be rockslide or debris slide (depending on the material)
• also known as translational slide

6. Debris flow

• rapid movement of a mixture of rock/soil with a significant component of

water or air; motion is taking place throughout the moving mass; viscous
to fluid-like motion of debris.
• Common varieties include mudflow, earthflow and debris avalanche
7. Mudflow

• flowing mixture of debris and water

• usually moving down a channel and can be visualized as a stream with the
consistency of a thick milkshake
• usually occurs after a heavy rainfall a slurry of soil and water forms and
begins moving down a slope
• commonly occurs in places where debris is not protected by a vegetative
cover

8. Debris avalanche

• a very rapid moving, turbulent mass of debris, air, and water

• A debris avalanche is a large-scale landslide that travels at high speed of
up to 100m/s, and can flow for distances of 10km or more (Siebert et al.,
1987; Shea and van Wyk de Vries, 2008).

9. Creep

• very slow, continuous movement of slope materials

• slow downslope movement of particles that occurs on every slope
covered with loose, weathered material
• Even soil covered with close-knit sod creeps downslope, as indicated by
slow but persistent tilting of trees, poles, gravestones, and other objects
set into the ground on hillsides.
FACTORS THAT INCREASE DRIVING FORCES AND LOWER RESISTING
FORCES

1. Steep slope

2. Removal of lateral support

3. Overloading of slope surfaces

4. Transitory stresses

5. Composition and texture of soil

6. Physico-chemical reactions of soil

7. Removal of trees

8. Relict structures
SUBSIDENCE

• a process characterized by downward displacement of surface

material caused by natural phenomena such as removal of
underground fluids, natural consolidation, or dissolution of
underground minerals, or by man -made phenomena such as
underground mining

DIFFERENTIAL SETTLEMENT

• refers to the a situation in which the slab-on-ground foundation does

not settle uniformly common causes: soil type with honeycomb
structure that exists in some kinds of sands and silts, water, dynamic
loading or vibration, and liquefaction
• dependent on the kind of soil that exists in a particular area and how
much loading is on it

KARST

• A distinctive terrain, usually formed on carbonate rock (limestone and

dolomite) where groundwater has solutionally- enlarged openings to
form a subsurface drainage system.
 MITIGATION

Sustained actions taken to reduce or eliminate long term risk to people,

infrastructure and property from hazards and their effects. They are
measures taken in advance of a disaster aimed at decreasing or
eliminating its impact on society and environment.

1. Non-Structural/ Non-Engineering Measures

• Aimed at decreasing vulnerability and adjusting to the hazards

• Example: use of geohazard maps, drafting of policies and regulations,
emergency response programs and compensation packages

2. Structural/ Engineering Measures

• aimed at controlling the hazard

• Example: for the blocks to become stable, the Resisting Forces should
be GREATER than the Driving Forces

MITIGATION FOR DIFFERENTIAL SETTLEMENT:

• Compaction
• Foundations
• Footings/ piles
• Retention structures
• Retaining walls
• Sheet piles