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Influence of Rainfall on Landslide

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 International Conference on

LANDSLIDES,
SLOPE STABILITY

THE SAFETY OF
INFIL{-
STRIJCTIJRES
13 r L4 September 1994
Kuala Lumpuri Malaysia

sponsored by
The Department of Civil Engineering
Institute of Technolos, MARA, Malaysia

organised by

CAMS
(Malaysia)
&
d PREMIER
CONFERENCE

>- -Y
 Intemational Confercrce on Lotdslidq Slop Stafiilrty @td tte Safay $ I$m-Smauru : 13 - 14 September 1g4, Mataysia

tI
Gll$rtrr0i Influence of Rainfall on Landslide
Snrr[
!ra* A K Sarm4 Assam Engineering College, India
.!r - P K Bora Assam Engineering College, India
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ABSTRACT

_
slope -The Borth
failure
easte:.D paar o: ::d:a beilg a zole of heavy ralDfall Lnd hlsl
is mucrr oor!- coipie: :! ihis resioa. Rock tl I
accelerated rate of weathering. rLe: e:posed, 6f ihr< reg.ion
,-,r^n being
L6r--
-tIe -^"^1i-",1i.tl "{;
,i'11"J""r.fh""'
iusceptible
-^1.
t;
the probleD. a! ihvestisatj.on b!s rre:: :ai.ied
:"""t11d,^..l"nf_ afof tiona] dimension
'oui i, -;;;;;;-i'.;'"i".""i'"1"ru:"
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311
 landslide and rainfall for . the greater
1.O INTRODU TION
Guwahati &rea, rainfall data from 1950
Guwahati, a fast growing city in lhu state has been collected from the meteorological
ha.s been
;i as"ai, in t''torttr - East India, centre at Borjhar in Guwahati. The detailed
in the information regarding landslide has been
wltnessing an alarming in .increase
recent years' collected from the people of the affected
in"iOen"e of landslides areas by means of suitably prepared
Thishasbeenmainlyduetotheincreasing clty for questionnaires. For a systematic comparison
use of the hilly areas of the the rapidly of the landslide and rainfall has been
construction of houses for has drawn from 1970 to 1991, &s landslides
inceasing population which increased
during this period only'
from a mere 43,6L5 in 1951 to point 5,77 ,591
of
were reported
The datei of slide have then been superimposed
in 1991. Although from(Deka, the view
e;of;eicaf stru-cture 1991)4 the on the histogram to obtain a meaningful
graphical representation of the data
area sfroulO not have been inherently &
prone
regular exact dates of
to lanslides, these have now become (fie. 1). The landslides,
hazard for the city due tobeing many other which could not be ascertained, have been
causative factors. rire city situated omitted for the purpose of analysis'
i; the tropicaL region of heavy rainfall
high seismicity,- slope faiLure is much From the graphical reprresentation presented
"rA,o"e -complex in itris region' -Experienee
small disturbance
in fie 1:, it can be readilY seen . that
occurred invariably either
tras shown that after & stabLe hill
the landslide
made on an otherwise slope during or towards the end of a ,i heavy or
;;t Lead the sLope progressively towards prolonged spell of rain. The landslide at
a- aevastating landslide. ttre ultumate failure tla'r.g"^fru (16th Sept, 1987), Pahartali
critical combination
iat<e place under the affecting (27ti Aug, 1988), Bishnunagar (29th JuIy,
oi various iaciors, adversely ig8g) , Soutfr - Sarania ( 3rd AgEr. - . 1991) and
the stabil-itY. ilacfrai'itastl ( 14th Oct , 1991) occurred
during rainspell. The landslide of Birubari
To ascertain the actual- cause and hence
ii+trr-aue, tgez), Dhi-renpara (5th Sept,1987),
to evolve some remedial measures' Brrpntgu"-(10th to 14th July 1988), Kharghuli
investigations have been carried out at
iwenty 1oo" landslide areas in and around Cfb-fa JuIy 1988), Navagraha (10-14 July,1988)
from prelimin' Nabagraha (15th Ju1y, 1989) and Kacharibasti
ttre city. Information collected 1989) took place towards the
ary survey on- landslide areas of Guwahati ( 15th July

lSarma & Goswami., 1991F has revealed that end of a rainsPell.

iandslide of this regionseason' invarlably takes can be reBarded
piu"" during the rainy This has Thus all the landslide
ied the authors to carry out further analysis as raininduced and these therefore occurred
toexaminethenatureofcorrelationbetween when the slopes were hj'gh1y saturated' that
the first Another interesting observation is
rainfall and landsLides. In landslides are dependent more on the duration
phase a statistical analysis has been carried
tut to get a quantitative- measure rainf the of the rainspeil rather than on intensity
--of- all Of course, this analysis gives
nrtu." -ot rerriiionship between area' Then
of rainfall.
only a general idea about to what extent
and landslide for the studystudies is responsible for failure of
eiperimental and analytieal have
insight - into
rainfall
b;;n carried out to glin an in hill slope. The actual rain-induced failure
it contributory process of rainfall mechanism, however, varies from c&se to
"
failure mechanism. case.
2.O PAST IORK
4.O EFFECT OF BAINFALL IN CAUSING LANDSLIDES
Investigations have been carried out in
the past to establish a relationship between Rainfall has both direct and indirect effect
tanaitiae and rainfalI. According to Bhandari on the landstide of an area. Direct effect
ii98;P observations are
, &s rainfall- common, includes saturation of soil and rock mass,
inexpensive, simple -and it will generation of excess pore pressure and
-
practical value if correlation erosion of surface soi1. Indirect effect
- t."-great
t; o't
oerifea directly between rainfall includes gradual removal of fine particles
""" landslide.
and - Guidicini and Iwasa (Lg77)7' by subsurface flow and facilitating
O."i"Ea tn inOe*, termed as event coefficient weathering both physieal and chemical '
(Ce=precipitation record of the event/mean
aonrrtf precipitation) for failure' Teesta valley' 4.1 DIRECT EFFECT OT BAINFALL
to indicite possibility of - Vargas
and -Brand 4.1. 1 SATURATION ETFECT
iigiilrb . Barata irgog)1
ii98;i3 have attempted to find correlation It has been observed that all the landslides
between precipitation 1eve1 and incidence
under investigation, occurred when the
of landslide.' Analysing between the landslide of
Hokkaido th4t occurred that majoritv 1955-1958' slope were highly saturated. Thus saturation
il;a;--irgzojo- ;;n;luded . of which increases the weight of the slope
theseoccurredwhendailyprecipitation materials and reduces the shear strengtb
was higher than 2O0 mm. through increase in pore, pressure, can
be regarded &s one of the imPortant
3.O RAIIFALL . LI\I{DSLIDE RETATIONSEIP contributing factors causing landslides '
For the study of reLationship between

312

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J 50
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'15 AUGUST (1e82) Onf e --'--r SEnEMBEn(rg8z) DATE
O -} LAND SLIDE AT BIRUBARI . * LAND SLTDE AT NAVAGRAH -->
O* LAND SLIDE AT DHIRENPARA
I OOOOurh\o-rrr{OOtr\,
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6
JULY (19S8) DATE --* . .* ^AUcrtJST (ress) DATE ----*-
LANDSLIDE AT PAHARTALI,KALAi;AHNN
ogog o9 o9o ggoooop9 p o o9 ? d)6rN-oooooNu1-.1 g .ooOC)oOOO -vvylo
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) 50
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f,qo 7 40
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a30
-;: 20

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AUGUST ( l99l) DATE JULY (rraS) DATE _=}

r.- LANDSLIDE AT SOUTH SORQNIA .- LANDSLIDE AT BISHNUNAGAR
-> o* LANDSLIDE AT NAVAGRAH,KACHAR|BASTI,
99 9g 9frgg\o 99s.o|1o
ooo66booioirOi:o 99e9e
ooooo RAJBARIPATH
t

J
FIG. I RAINFALL LANDSLIDE RELATIONSHIP
I,L
Z
FOR GREATER OUWAHATI

t-e

.?r

l- -

313
r-

It has been observed that the hiLL slopes 4.T.2 SEEPAGE FROU A PEBCEED TATEB TABI.E--
comprising soiL and rock mass are vulnerable I[hile analysing the stability of & hill
to landsliae. ?he mechanism of failure sIope, the seepage force considered should
of such composite slope has been nathema' includes seepage from perched water table
tically anitysed (Sarma, Bora, Chetry'
iAglt6" Th; rate of saturation of the (1f any) that may be present uphilL.During
rock mass present ln the slope can- affect rains, water table rises and thus seepage
the situation significantly' Depending force, which is a function of hydraulic
on the degree of weathering, tbe rate of head, also increases considerably. During
absorption can vary to a great extent within site investigation (Deka & Sarma, A.K.,
the same rock tYPe. 1993)5 of Kachari Basti landslide, heavy
seepage was observed. from the sheared face.
Anal-ysisofrainfalllandsliderelatlonship Later existence of perched water table
h;; " shown that the deep seated slide of
uphill in the shape of natural pond was
Kaeharibasti (14th Oct, 1991) onrY cI-aiming
;;;1v thirty lives, took PracerqinspeLl' on observed. Seepage from these ponds on the
itre slcond, diy of a high intensity uphill were eonfirmed. This has contributed
irii"- certainfy is an exceptional case'
in addition to the normal rain water
The failure surface also includes rock
shear
seepage of the s1ope, to failure. Ifater
of a huge rock mass. The major type
;i in. Irea has been identified as granite present in the tension eracks rocks ofeourse
inei"s, ir highly weathered condition' exert additional hydrostatic pressure which
fritn ; view to iinains out the reason for induces additional disturbing force
the Kacharibasti landslide within a short contributing towards the failure (fig.3).
time after the commencement of the rai'n'
eiperiment was conducted to determine the
coilparatt"" rate of absorption o-f -water
fy 'granite gneiss of different the landslide
result
ai'.aI of cuwitrati. As expected, TENSION CRACK
has shown an exceptionally high absorption PHREATIC LINE
rate for the rock mass of Kacharibasti
(fie. 2). Thus 1t can be concluded with / w-FW
confidence that the failure oecurred only FORCE DUE
within the second day of rai-nspel1, because TO WATER IN
the weathered rocknass could attain its ,!qqf ,i
MAss ,'
tng tEx-Stox
ful1 saturation within that short period' aiiiiK
Therefore, while evaluating the stability .q'
of a hill s1ope, evaluatlon of the rate 8t
of absorption of water by the rock mass
present, is as important as the total amount ,9 r'
of water absorbed-
S,,,
"9oP'" SOIL
bv)

N6
z_
;5
o
i4
E F lG. 3.
o_
ut{
co- 4.1.3 EROSION OF SURFACE SOIL

Surface erosion of hilI slope in meny cases

frz may lead to failure of the sloPe.
Ir The landslide at Rupnagar ( 10th to 14th
Ju1y, 1988) occurred because of the removal
of suporting soil from' beneath and around
TIME IN HOUR + a huge perched boulder by surface erosion'
Before the s1ide, heavy mud fLow w&s observed
CURVE I MODGHORIA. 4.BIRUBABI.
from the hi11. In absence of the supporting
E KACHARI BASTI. sRUPNAGAR .
3 KALAPAHAR . CDHRENPARA . tire soil mass, the boulder became unstable
and eventually fel1 down. The impact induced
FrG.2. ABSORPTIONT RATE OF by the boulder disturbed the stabillty
GRANTTE GNET56 of the slope and slope failure occurred
along with the rock fall. Such mudfLos

314

R*L-- -- --
 from slopes stiewn with perched boulders
may thus be a forewarning of impending
rockfall which may often be associated
with landslides.
The landslide of Navagraha (26th Sept,
1987) constitute &n example of & different
type. Here surface erosion was responsible
to a great extent for the failure. In
the absence of any vegetal cover, gullies
were formed, which devided the slope in
to sma11 vertical strips, which gave away
when human abuse in the form of toe eutting
was resorted to (fig 4)
VEGETATED SLOPE BARE SLOPE WITH
GULLY FORMATION
(uonE sTABLE) (urss STABLE)
FtG.4
4.2 INDIBECT EFFECA .
4.2.L f,ASEING OUT OF FINE FRACTION
Removal of fine clay fraction from soil
mass, specially from the rock-soil interface,
by the surface runoff has considerable
effect in reducing the shear strength of
the soil mass. Rain water percolating down
through a hi11face, if met by any underlying
rock strata dipping in the direction of
slope, flows downhill along this rock soil
interface. The shear strength of rock soil
interface, decreases further, &s the finer
fraction is gradually washed away by the
rain water. The shear resistance coming
from the interlocking of the coarser particles
also get redueed as the remaining coarser
particles tend to get reoriented as shown
in the fig.5, in the direction of action
of flowing water. Of course it is a gradual
I and continuous process of deterioration
and is not an immediate effect of a particular
rainspell. But the ultimate failure in
such a case may appear to be sudden in
the end. The landslide of Birubari (14th
AuB, 1982) is an example of sueh kind.
f F
315
4.2.2 UEATBEBING ACTION OT TATEB
Bain water can be regarded as one. of the
prime factors in weathering so long as
it. remains on the surface or at sballow
depth in the crevices of the bed rock and
ln the pore spaces. The minerals of the
rocks exposed to atmosphere, react with
thd chemical agents of weathering in. presence
of water. This results in partial or total
decomposition of the mineral grain, not
only at the surface but aLso along the
crevices into which moisture can penetrate.
Ifater further aids in decomposing the rocks
by removing certain minerals in solution.
Some of tbe minerals get dissolved ln carbollc
acids whieh forms when carbon-di-oxide
unites with water. Water with carbon-di-
oxide can dissctlve huge mass of carbonate
rocks like lime stone forming bicarbonate.
CaCOa + COz + HzO * Ca(HCOs)z
,i
Sinilar1y, feldspar mineral of granite
decomposes in moist temperate climate
particularly when dissolved COz is available,
to form clayey feldspathic soil.
Quartz Sandy soiL
-E
Grani te Feldspar
Mica
Feldspathic soiL
- Micaceous soil
Water ofcourse also plays an important
role as weathering agent so far as mechanlcal
weathering is coneerned.
Thus, it can be concluded that the hills
of North-east India Eet weathered in a
accelerated rate as rain water is available
for about seven months in a year. Due to
denudation of the hi11s in the urban &reas,
in absence of transpiration 1oss, the
subsurface layers of hilI slope remain
wet for longer periods, which in turn help
in the weathering processes.
ORIGINAL STRUCTT,RI
WITN BFTTER INTER-
IOCKING IN THE ROCX
EOIL INTCRFACE
RE-ORIEilIED SIRUCTU.
RE UNDERTHE IXFLUE-
NCE OF FLOWING
rG. 5.
 4. Deka, G. (1991)
tianAsfiad
5.O CONCLUSIONS anO'its relation to geologica}to
different features with particular reference
Investigations carried out in in North-east the area Guwahati, " Souvenir of IE( I )
landslide areas in Guwahatirainfall plays (Assam center).
india have revealed that failure of natural
a- vital role in the 5. G. & Sarma, A.K. (1993)
Deka
slopes. From a comparison of been the rainfa1l.'- site investigation for
"Importance of landslide
ana'fanAslide recordi it hascoincided observed
with mitigation of hazard" ' Proe'
tir"t, ianaslide invariably where extensive of National workshop of Land slide hazard
;Gii of rain- Even in cases is present' mitigation and management', Guwahati,
human abuse of natural slope an VI L.7,
it -taf.es rainfalt to act as
causing
ultimate
landslide
irieeerine agent for ' 6. Endo, T (1970)
Following conclusions can be drawn' "Probab1e distribution of amount of
rainfall causing Landslide" AnnuaI report
1" Rainfall acts both as an immediate cause of Hokkaido Branch Government Forest
offailureandaSaprimeagentincausing Experimental station, Sapporo 123'136'
iraOuaf deterioration of shear strength
of the sloPe material. 7. Guidici-ni, G. & Ir&s&, D.Y' (1977) rainfall
2. Inltial destabilisation of a slope induced "Tentative correlation between troplcal
by human activities is accelarated by and landslide in Mattumid
rainfa11. environment" Proc- I AEG Symp' oq: landslide
mey vary and other mass movementsr' Prague,
3. A11 fallure mechanism which influenced 13-18.
in details from c&se to case are
by rainfall. 8. Sarma A.K. & Gosrani., B. (1991)
4. StatisticaL correlation derived to "A study of landslide Proc. in and around
establish relationship
- between rainfall the city of Guwahati" of seminar
;;----ranasrioe would- be highly emperical on "Birilding regulation' ' ' Hydrometeor-
diversity in geo-
in nature tlue to great Nevertheless ological condition" on 17th Nov 1991,
climatic condition-s. such p-21.
eorrelation mey have potential for area- 9. SarmaA.K., Bora P.K. & Chetry G' (1994) so'
speeif ic aPPlications.
"stabil-ity analysis of slopes compris.ing
5. Slopes containing highly weathered rock i1 and rock mass" Paper communicated
rilass with high water absorption rate of
may
high to The Journal of IE(i) for publication'
iuif even aftEr a short rainspell
intensitY. lO.Vargas, lI. (1971)
6. While doing slope stability analysis' "Effect of rarinfall and ground water
possible effects of rainfall on stability levels" Proc. fourtb Pan American conf'
;; indicated above should be considered' on SMFE, New York, 135-141.
7. I,Ihile conducting site investigations
for mitigation of landslide and hazard, apart
i"om invSstigation subsoil shouldgeologieal
be given
aie importance
"i"rr"trr"u,
io collecting information regarding existence
huge boulder'
of perched witer table, perched weatherability
iVpL anO density - of vegetatlon,
air'J tUsorption characteristics of the rock
etc.
I
6.O REFEBENCE

1. Barata, F-E (1969)

"Landslides in tfre tropical region of
Riode Janeiro" Proc' Int' Conf' Soil
Mech Found. Engg., Mexico, 2:5O7 '516'

;State of R.K.
2. Bhandari, (1984)
the Art-iteport on simple and
economical instrumentation and working
iystems for landslide and Int' other mass
mlvements" Proc. Fourth Symp'
Landslides, Toronto, 25L-273'
3. Brand, 8.f., Premchitt,J' & Phillipson'E'B
(1e84)
"Relationship between rainfall and
landslide j-; Hongkong" Fourth Int' Symp'
Landsli-de, Toronto, L:377 '384'

316

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