Lecture No: 05 Engineering Geology

What Is a Landslide?
A landslide happens when rocks, debris, and soil move down a slope. They're also known as
landslips. Things can go downhill suddenly, or they can slide at the snail's pace of just a couple
centimeters a year. They can come from natural causes or from the activities of people. The one
thing they all have in common is gravity. What is up sometimes slides down.
A landslide occurs when part of a natural slope is unstable and unable to support its own weight.
If a slippery material is present below soil then soil can become heavy with rainwater and prone
to landslide. It is a downward or outward movement of soil, rock or vegetation due to
gravitational force. This movement can be fall, flow, slide, spread or topple. Landslides occur
usually at steep slopes but these may occur in areas with low slope gradient.
Landslides may be caused due to several reasons that may be active individually or in
combination. Some of the major causes are:
➢ Extensive Rainfall
The most prominent landslide trigger is prolonged and heavy intensity rainfall. The trigger
may also occur even if the rainfall intensity is moderate, but the rain duration and pore
pressure are high. A universal landslide survey held in 2003 revealed that 90% of the
landslides that occurred were activated by a heavy rainfall. Primarily, this is due to the
enhancement of the pore water pressures in the soil.
➢ Melting of Snow
In several cold mountain places, snowmelt is frequent and may be a vital process for the
occurrence of landslides. This is particularly important when a rapid increase in the
temperature initiates fast snow melting. The water produced infiltrates into the earth that
has impermeable layers under the surface. The pore water pressures are increased rapidly,
causing the initiation of the landslide process. This consequence is particularly significant
when the warm weather is supplemented by precipitation that adds to the groundwater and
increases the melt rate.
➢ Rivers
Rivers can damage the slopes, particularly during the floods that trigger a landslide. The slope
disturbance increases the slope gradient, decreasing the stability. In some countries, this
process is frequently observed after glacial floods that cause toe erosion along the water
channel. As the flood waves pass, extensive land sliding normally occurs. This volatility
continues for an extended period, especially during the succeeding periods of intense rainfall
and floods.
➢ Change in Water Level
Fast changes in the ground water level along a slope may trigger landslides. This is especially
true when a slope is adjoining a river or another water body. As the water level close to the
slope decreases swiftly, the ground water cannot dissipate as fast, causing a high water table.
The slope is subjected to high shear stresses that lead to a potential instability. This is one of
the most important methods by which a river bank fails.
➢ Seismic Shaking
Earthquake waves through the rocks and earth create accelerations that alter the
gravitational forces on the slope. The vertical accelerations consecutively change the load on

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the slope; the horizontal accelerations cause a shearing force because of the landslide inertia.
This process is complex, and can be enough to cause a slope failure. These processes are
significant in the hilly areas where the seismic waves cause an increase in the ground
accelerations. This development is called topographic amplification. The greatest
acceleration generally occurs at the slope crest or beside the ridge line.
➢ Liquefaction
The movement of the earthquake waves through the ground can produce liquefaction.
During this process, shaking causes the pore space reduction. The high density raises the pore
pressure in the ground. The granular material is changed into flow slides that are rapid and
can be extremely damaging. You can find detailed information about ill effects of soil
liquefaction in Soil Liquefaction and Remedial Measures, also here at Bright Hub.

Other Causes may be stated as:

➢ Weakness in the composition, material or geological structure of rock or soil
formation.
➢ External factors, which affect the ground water regimes such as heavy rain, snowmelt,
changes in ground water level etc.
➢ Creation of new site conditions such as changes to natural slope due to construction
activities.
➢ Earthquakes or volcanic activities

Although, landslide is a natural disaster but it may occur due to man made
factors such as:
➢ Construction work without proper survey of the site and without designing and
engineering inputs.
➢ Irrational farming technologies, for example, ploughing in a lengthwise direction
down the slope, accelerate loss of substances on the slopes that are eroded by
weathering.
➢ These practices continue to deteriorate the mountain slopes and make these slopes
the source regions of landslides.
➢ Removal of vegetation cover and deforestation, etc.
Farming activities on slopes involve removal of vegetation cover usually followed by
terracing. Burning of vegetation to clear the land is a normal practice in hilly areas
adopted by farmers this makes the land more prone to landslides.
Similarly, there are several natural factors which may cause landslide such as:
➢ Intense rainfall or deposition of snow will raise the ground water table; decrease the
soil strength and increases weight of associated material.
➢ Rapid melting of snow adds water to soil mass on slopes makes it prone to land
slide.
➢ Erosion caused by continuous runoff over a slope can bring about instability of the
soil mass.
➢ The removal of support of a soil mass by flow of water in rivers, wave action etc.

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➢ Deposition of loose sediments in certain areas.

➢ Weathering and decomposition of rocks
➢ Ground vibrations created during earthquakes.
Types of Landslides:
There are several types of landslides depending on the topography the area such as:
Creep:
Creep is imperceptibly slow down slope movement of earth cover or regolith. In the creep
affected areas utility poles, fence posts and gravestones etc. appear tilted or deformed on the
surfaces.
Debris fall:
When rock as well as overlying sediments and vegetation is free falling, it is known as debris
fall.
Debris flow:
Down slope movement of collapsed, unconsolidated material typically along a stream channel.
Rock fall:
Free falling of detached bodies of bedrock (boulders) from a cliff or steep slope.
Rock Slide:
Rockslide is a sudden down slope movement of detached masses of bedrock.
Slump:
It is a type of slope failure in which a downward and outward rotational movement of rock or
soil occurs along a curved concave up surface.

Rotational slide: This is a slide in which the

surface of rupture is curved concavely upward
and the slide movement is roughly rotational
about an axis that is parallel to the ground
surface and transverse across the slide.

Translational slide: In this type of slide, the

landslide mass moves along a roughly planar
surface with little rotation or backward tilting.

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Block slide: A translational slide in which the

moving mass consists of a single unit or a few
closely related units that move downslope as a
relatively coherent mass.

Fall: Falls are abrupt movements of masses of

geologic materials, such as rocks and boulders,
that become detached from steep slopes or
cliffs. Separation occurs along discontinuities
such as fractures, joints, and bedding planes,
and movement occurs by free-fall, bouncing,
and rolling. Falls are strongly influenced by
gravity, mechanical weathering, and the
presence of interstitial water.

Topple: Toppling failures are distinguished by

the forward rotation of a unit or units about some
pivotal point, below or low in the unit, under the
actions of gravity and forces exerted by adjacent
units or by fluids in cracks.

Debris flow: A debris flow is a form of rapid mass movement in which a

combination of loose soil, rock, organic matter, air, and water mobilize as a slurry
that flows downslope. Debris flows include less than 50% fines. Debris flows are
commonly caused by intense surface-water flow, due to heavy precipitation or rapid
snowmelt, that erodes and mobilizes loose soil or rock on steep slopes. Debris flows
also commonly mobilize from other types of landslides that occur on steep slopes,

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are nearly saturated, and consist of a

large proportion of silt- and sand-sized
material. Debris-flow source areas are
often associated with steep gullies, and
debris-flow deposits are usually
indicated by the presence of debris fans
at the mouths of gullies. Fires that
denude slopes of vegetation intensify the
susceptibility of slopes to debris flows.

Debris avalanche: This is a variety of

very rapid to extremely rapid debris flow.

Earthflow: Earthflows have a

characteristic "hourglass" shape. The slope
material liquefies and runs out, forming a
bowl or depression at the head. The flow
itself is elongate and usually occurs in fine-
grained materials or clay-bearing rocks on
moderate slopes and under saturated
conditions. However, dry flows of granular
material are also possible.
Mudflow: A mudflow is an earthflow
consisting of material that is wet enough to
flow rapidly and that contains at least 50
percent sand-, silt-, and clay-sized
particles. In some instances, for example in many newspaper reports, mudflows and
debris flows are commonly referred to as "mudslides."

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Creep: Creep is the imperceptibly

slow, steady, downward movement of
slope-forming soil or rock. Movement
is caused by shear stress sufficient to
produce permanent deformation, but
too small to produce shear failure.
There are generally three types of
creep:
(1) seasonal, where movement is
within the depth of soil affected by
seasonal changes in soil moisture and
soil temperature;
(2) continuous, where shear stress
continuously exceeds the strength of
the material;
(3) progressive, where slopes are reaching the point of failure as other types of mass
movements. Creep is indicated by curved tree trunks, bent fences or retaining walls,
tilted poles or fences, and small soil ripples or ridges.

Lateral Spreads: Lateral

spreads are distinctive because
they usually occur on very
gentle slopes or flat terrain.
The dominant mode of
movement is lateral extension
accompanied by shear or
tensile fractures. The failure is
caused by liquefaction, the
process whereby saturated,
loose, cohesionless sediments
(usually sands and silts) are transformed from a solid into a liquefied state. Failure
is usually triggered by rapid ground motion, such as that experienced during an
earthquake, but can also be artificially induced. When coherent material, either
bedrock or soil, rests on materials that liquefy, the upper units may undergo
fracturing and extension and may then subside, translate, rotate, disintegrate, or
liquefy and flow. Lateral spreading in fine-grained materials on shallow slopes is
usually progressive. The failure starts suddenly in a small area and spreads rapidly.
Often the initial failure is a slump, but in some materials movement, occurs for no
apparent reason. Combination of two or more of the above types is known as a
complex landslide.

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Anatomy of a Landslide

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Effects of landslides:
Landslides may affect directly or indirectly to inhabitants, animals and natural resources of
whole area. Anything on top of or in the path of a landslide suffers damage. Debris may block
roads, supply lines (telecommunication, electricity, water, etc.) and waterways. Intensity of
causalities (deaths and injuries to people and animals) may vary from slight to severe. In
addition, productivity of agricultural and forest land may be reduced. In the downstream area
erosion and flooding will change agricultural land to less productive or barren land.

Indirectly landslides may affect safety dam in the area. The safety of a dam can be severely
affected by landslide in the upstream area of the dam or on the slopes bordering the reservoir.
It may cause flood surges by movements of large masses of soil into the reservoir. Thus, wave
formed can overtop the dam causing downstream flooding and possibly failures to the dam.
Increased sedimentation in the reservoir results in the loss of water storage and increased
likelihood that the dam will be overtopped during periods of excessive runoff.

Additionally, landslides and flooding are associated with each other, both are related to intense
rainfall, runoff and ground saturation. Debris increases damage because flow can cause
flooding by blocking valleys and stream channels, forcing large amounts of water to backup.
Moreover, this causes dual damage i.e., backwater flooding in the upstream area as well as
quick downstream flooding, if the blockage gives away. In turn, flooding can cause landslides,
due to rapidly moving flood waters. Once support is removed from the base of saturated
slopes, land sliding takes place. In the steep landslide, prone areas occurrence of earthquake,
greatly increases the possibility of shattering mudflows. Damage to electrical wires may start
fires which increases damages. Landslides may result in direct or indirect losses.

Direct losses include:

Most damaging impact of landslides is loss of life. Landslides may cause death and injury to
people and animals. The moving mass can bury people and animals under debris.
2. It may cause loss of property and assets. The force and speed of debris , mud or earth mass
generated due to mass movement may destroy houses, buildings and other properties on its
way.
3. Landslides damage infrastructure as well as lifeline facilities. Earth mass can block or damage
infrastructures such as roads, railway, bridges, telecommunication, electrical supply lines, etc.
4. Earth mass can affect water recourses in the area by blocking rivers, diverting water ways,
blocking irrigation channels, reducing storage capacity of tanks, reservoirs, ponds, etc.
5. It may cause production losses to open cast mines, rock quarries, etc.
6. Productive land area may be covered with debris or blocked from access thus it may result in
the loss of agricultural land.
7. Landslides may cause loss of places of archaeological, his torical and cultural importance.

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Indirect losses include:

1. Value of immovable properly will be reduced because people may be unwilling to purchase
property in landslide prone area.
2. There will be loss of revenue due to loss of productive area and productivity of available
area.
3. Investment will be diverted towards mitigating future landslide damage; in turn it will
increase costs of essential commodities.
4. Productivity of agricultural and forest lands will be decreased due to being buried by debris,
lack of access or being under flood.
5. Water quality will be adversely affected particularly safe drinking may not be available for
some time due to damage of water storage facilities such as streams, reservoirs, storage tanks
etc.
6. Deaths of family members and the destruction of personal belongings may have great
sentimental value and cause reduction in quality of life.
7. Landslides as a natural disaster can have a deep impact on people's emotional wellbeing
affecting their feelings, thoughts, actions, and relationships.

Indicators of landslides which may help to minimize/ avoid problem:

There are certain indicators which should be considered to avoid landslide problem such as:
1. Normally, if possible trees grow vertically towards the sun. Bend over or tilted trees indicate a
dislocation of the slope. Bowed trees indicate that the ground is moving very slowly, which gives time to
trees, to straighten up as they grow.
2.Bulging earth is an indicator of new or ongoing movement of a slope which can be easily noticed.
3.Cracks, particularly running parallel to a slope, are indicators of stress relief and slight movement of a
slope. These cracks may appear in the overlying snow during winter season, if the movement is
significant enough.
4.In homes slope movements can be seen up as cracks through the foundation or the walls of buildings.
5.Distortion in is a symptom that they are unable to support the upslope building or area.
6.Hummocky grounds are low mounds irregularly spaced around the old or sometimes recent landslide
areas. It indicates that the upslope area (old landslide deposits) could move again.
7.If excess water is available in a slope, it will try to find its way to the surface. This indicates that the
slope area above the seep is saturated and it may slip any time. Seepage of water will cause the down
slope area to become saturated and this will also be prone to slide.
8.When new utility poles are typically put in vertical position and in line. Any change in their position
indicates movement of ground.

Measures to reduce the chance of landslides:

Vegetation cover protects land from landslides and soil erosion. Therefore, efforts should be made to
maintain greenery particularly on slopes. Provisions should be made at community level to prevent
people from excavating, removing materials from the soil or cutting trees. Trees should be planted on
slopes and slope base to prevent erosion. Records of erosion, landslide masses and falling rocks should
be maintained. Before building house, information should be gathered about site and history of
landslides in the area. During constructing a building on a slope design that suits the natural slope

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should be adopted. Vegetation and large trees should not be removed while constructing. Natural
streams or drainage paths should not be obstructed during construction. Surface water should be
diverted towards the natural galley enabling water to quickly drain away from the slope.

Precautionary measures to be followed in landslide prone areas:

Listen to weather forecast on the radio, TV etc. about heavy rains. During nights’ residents should
remain awake of heavy continuous rain and be ready to move immediately to a safer location. Abnormal
sounds of soil and rock movement or breaking of trees may be followed by landslides hence, these
should be listen attentively and consider seriously. To observe cracks on the slope one should not move
closure to slope. If residents have to evacuate place it should be done immediately without wasting time
to collect belongings. While evacuating, efforts should be made to avoid possible landslide paths
because landslide can occur suddenly. If rocks are falling one should immediately seek cover behind
trees and other solid objects. Efforts should be made to stay together and support each other as far as it
is possible and useful. Special attention should be paid for very small children, very old people and sick
or disabled people.

Precautions during landslide:

Preferable one should stay where people are available around. During disaster children need special
attention and comfort than normal situation. Attentively all their questions should be answered up to
maximum possible extent even if they ask the same question again and again. One should talk children
and assure them that they are safe. In fact, more courage, strength and energy is needed to face the
situation successfully so one should conserve energy and postpone unnecessary work and divert the
energy to accomplish necessary work only.

Precautions needed after landslide:

After landslide one should not enter the area without permission from the authorities. Although field
and buildings may seem to be as before landslide but one should not enter damaged area o r buildings
until the authorities declare them as safe. Persons engaged in the removal of debris or the digging up of
bodies buried in the mass should do their work in an organized manner. If water is available in the debris
deposit it should be removed first and all water paths should be diverted away from the affected slope
area and the debris. Children should not be allowed to go through the loose and new deposits of debris
because the surface may appear to be dry but the wet conditions can prevail withi n the mass. Damaged
area should be replanted on priority during next season of planting to avoid erosion.

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