3.

LANDSLIDES: DEFINITION, TERMINOLOGY AND FACTORS

Landslides are the natural processes, which occur and recur in specific
geo-environmental conditions. Although, landslides principally occur in
mountainous regions, these can be triggered at places such as surface
excavations for highways, buildings and open pit mines. Some of the landslides
can be rapid which can occur in seconds, whereas others may be slow which can
take hours, weeks, or even longer to develop. Typically, these may occur at
places where they have occurred before, on the steep slopes, on the benches,
where drainage is causing a problem and at places with weak geological
conditions exist.

3.1 Definition and Types

In general, landslide can be defined as (Varnes, 1984),

“All varieties of mass movements on slopes, including some such as rockfalls,

topples and debris flows that involve little or no true sliding.”

Different criteria may be used for classifying landslides such as form of

sliding surface, type of materials involved, rate of movement, type of movement,
age and state of activity. The most commonly used classification is the one
proposed by Varnes (1978) and Cruden and Varnes (1996), which is based on
two important parameters namely the type of movement and the type of material
involved (Table 1). A detailed description on types of landslides can be found in
Anabalgan (2007).

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 Table 1. Types of landslides (modified after Varnes, 1978)

Type of material
Type of movement Debris Soil
Bedrock Predominantly Predominantly
coarse fine
Falls Rock fall Debris fall Earth fall

Topples Rock topple Debris topple Earth topple

Rotational Few Debris slump Earth slump
units
Slides
Translational Many Rock block Debris block Earth block
units slide slide slide

Rock slide
Debris slide Earth slide

Spreads Rock Debris spread Earth spread

spread

Flows Rock flow Debris flow Earth flow

Complex movements Combination of two or more principal types

The landslide types can also be understood in terms of the context and
situation by knowing the slope history at different times, as given in Bhandari
(2006),

i) Old landslides dormant for decades or centuries, including those which

are known to be dormant for decades under a thick cover of
vegetation, without showing any signs of instability or activity.
ii) Old landslides which are known to be dormant for decades but are
feared to activate due to neglect of slopes, ongoing developmental
activities or such other reasons.
iii) Landslides only a few years old, but with no recurrent activity observed
since then.

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 iv) Old landslides, which appear to be dangerously big, but their activity
levels remain unstudied and their slope history is unknown.
v) Recent landslides with clear evidence and/unquestionable potential for
repetitive activity and enlargement.
vi) Known landslides, periodically treated with partial, inadequate,
temporary and non-engineered remediation.
vii) Recent small landslides, with evidence of self-healing.
viii) Landslides, old or recent, under effective (engineered) control.

3.2 Danger, Hazard and Risk

A systematic study of landslide involves,

i) identification and description of danger

ii) evaluation of hazard probability
iii) assessment of the risk.

The definitions of danger, hazard and risk and other related terms can be
found in Fell et al. (2008) and Technical Committee of the International Society of
Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
(http://www.engmath.dal.ca/tc32/2004Glossary_Draft1.pdf),

The landslide hazards may be analyzed on mega-regional scales

(>1:100000), regional scales (1: 25000 to 1: 50000), semi detailed scale (1:5000:
1: 10000) or detailed scales (1: 1000 – 1: 2000). The studies on mega-regional
scale are useful for understanding the pattern of distribution of hazards in a
country or a portion of a country. Nevertheless, they can not be effectively used
for planning purposes. The regional scale studies are carried out using empirical
approaches covering fairly large areas. The output maps can be used for
effective planning on District level or general location of major satellite townships
and other such purposes. In case of landslide studies on detailed scales,

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analytical methods are employed and different segments of a slope are covered
in detail. These site specific are useful to identify the required control measures
as well as to design them based on the realistic estimates of analysis carried out
earlier.

Assessment of risk is essential for planning landslide hazard management

practices.

3.3 Factors Responsible for the Occurrence of Landslides

A landslide is seldom attributed to a single causative factor. A number of

factors contribute to slides, including geology, gravity, weather, groundwater,
wave action, and human actions. It is of fundamental importance to identify these
causative factors for landslide occurrences in a region, which often is difficult. It is
also usually hard to establish the relationships between various causative
factors. The great variety of slope movements reflects the diversity of factors that
may disturb the slope stability.

Nevertheless, it may be possible to demarcate landslide susceptible areas

by identifying and analyzing the factors that have caused landslides in the past
(Aleotti and Chowdhury, 1999). It is of primary importance to understand the
conditions, under which mass movements are caused and the factors that trigger
the movements. Only a systematic study makes it possible to recognize the
extent of danger and to propose adequate remedial measures. In general, the
factors causing landslides can be categorized into natural and anthropogenic
factors (Figure 4), which have been briefly described here.

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 Figure 4. Flowchart showing causative factors of landslide

3.3.1 Natural Factors

Natural factors can be grouped into inherent and external factors.

Inherent Factors

The inherent factors represent the inherent characteristics of hill slope.

These factors include geology, slope gradients, local relief, hydrogeological
conditions, as well as land use and land cover.

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Lithology

It is an important geological parameter as it is related to the basic

characters of the slope forming materials. There are two fundamental types of
slope forming materials – loose, unconsolidated materials and in-situ rocks. The
unconsolidated materials, except older fluvial materials, in general, have least
shear strength and are more prone to failure. Particularly, if they are charged with
water, they show high potential to failure. The rocks are in general more stable
as compared to unconsolidated materials. The lithological characters related to
failure potential are related to their erodibility response to the processes of
weathering and erosion. For example, igneous rocks, such as granite, are hard
and massive and hence show greater resistance to erosion. Moreover, they have
interlocking crystals, which is mainly responsible for their increased angle of
shearing resistance. On the contrary, the terrigenous sedimentary rocks are
more vulnerable to erosion and hence more landslides are seen on these rocks.
The granular metamorphic rocks like Quartzite are more stable due to similarity
of properties with igneous rocks. However, other metamorphic rocks like phyllites
and schists are more prone to landslides. Mechanical and chemical weathering
affects the strength of rock mass, which is also one of the contributory factors of
landslide.

Structure

Structure includes primary and secondary discontinuities in the rocks such

as bedding, joints, foliations, faults and thrusts. The disposition of the structural
discontinuities in relation to slope inclination and direction has a great influence
on the stability of slopes. Since the landslides by definition are gravitational
failures, the presence of preexisting adverse discontinuities are essential for rock
failures to occur. In general, if the discontinuities dip at an angle less than that of
the slope and more or less in the same direction of the slope, the possibilities of

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failure are more. The more the frequency of joints, the size of the resultant rock
wedges will be small promoting more failure potential.

Slope morphometry

It defines various slope categories based on the occurrence of slope

angles. The distribution of slope categories is dependent on the
geomorphological history of the area. The angle of slope of each unit is a
reflection of a series of localized processes and controls, which have been
imposed on the slope. In general, more the angle of slope, the failure potential
will be more. However, it is the shear strength, that is, combination of cohesion
(C) and angle of internal friction (Ф) of slope forming materials, and is the guiding
factor in assessing the stability of the slopes. For example, the older fluvial
materials, which have high Ф values, are stable even at higher slope angles of
more than 45°. The coarser igneous rocks tend to have more Ф values, but the
finer rocks have more of C values. The meandering river courses in Himalaya
often causes steep to very steep slopes on the outer periphery of the meanders,
where the slopes become unstable.

Relative relief

The relative relief refers to the local height of the slope between the ridge
top and valley floor in a slope facet. It has an important role in forming the size of
the unstable wedges. The slope having higher relative relief may form unstable
rock wedges of big size with more probability of failures.

Land use and land cover

Land cover is an indirect indication of the stability of hill slopes. The thickly
vegetated forest areas are less prone to erosion and are generally more stable.
However, the barren and sparsely vegetated lands are more prone to erosion

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and instability. Forest cover smoothers the action of climatic agents on the slope
and protects them from weathering and erosion. A well spread-out root system
increases the shearing resistance of the slope materials. However, the growth of
plants and other vegetation in the pre-existing plane of joints of the rocks may
also cause excess stress on joint walls due to increase in size of roots. This
phenomenon may push the slope materials out and cause landslides

Similarly, the land use also is an indication of slope behavior. For

example, the agricultural lands represent areas of repeated water charging for
cultivation purposes and cause intermittent pore pressure on slope materials.
Moreover, the agriculture is generally practiced on low to very low slopes though
moderately steep slopes are also not spared at places. Hence, these areas are
considered as stable slopes. The deforestation on slopes, particularly the soil
slopes, is one of the well known factors in inducing landslides as it exposes
barren soil to erosion and destabilization.

Hydrogeological conditions

Hydrogeological conditions indicating the subsurface flow pattern is an

important parameter in establishing the stability of hill slope. Because the
subsurface water in hill is mainly channeled along the structural discontinuities of
the rocks, it does not have a uniform flow pattern. Rain and snowmelt water
penetrates into joints and fractures of rocks, thus increasing the pore water
pressure within rocks. This, in turn, may also decrease shear resistance of rocks
causing instability. Saturated clayey soils, when dry up get desiccated and
shrunken, which result in cracking of surface. The surface water readily
percolates through these fractures and the increased subsurface water content
may lead to plastic deformation. Water trapped in rock fissures and joints freezes
causing increase in volume. The freezing and thawing actions, which are
common in higher Himalaya is one of the important causes of slope instability.
This imparts a tremendous amount of pressure on the rock walls, leading to

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widening of joints and fractures. Freezing of water on the surface impedes
drainage of slope and thus increasing pore water pressure.

In case of subsurface water, it is only the shallow water close to the

surface that is important from the point of landslides as they can sufficiently
reduce strength of surface materials. The subsurface water flowing at deeper
levels which are not day-lighted on surface is not important to be considered.

External Factors

The external factors are the outside factors, which can not be studied on a
hill slope. They usually affect a larger area and hence are called regional factors.
These factors include concentrated rain fall and earthquakes. Since many a time
these factors are responsible for initiation of landslides, they are also known as
triggering factors.

Seismic shocks and vibrations

The seismic shocks produced by earthquakes, vibrations due to large-

scale explosions and heavy machines may affect the equilibrium of slopes by
evoking a temporary change in stress levels due to oscillations of different
frequencies. These vibrations induced stresses often produce catastrophic
landslides. In water saturated clay and fine sands, the displacement or rotation of
grains can result in sudden liquefaction of soils initiating a landslide.

Reports of earthquake-induced landslides surface virtually after every

earthquake in hilly areas. Himalaya, situated in the moderate (Intensity: 6.0) to
great (Intensity: 8.0) seismic zones are geodynamically very sensitive and
vulnerable. The earthquake releases a considerable amount of strain energy.
This energy adds a lot to the shear stress in a slope instability mechanism. On an
average, nearly 200 earthquakes of smaller magnitudes occur every year in the

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Uttarakhand State alone. Most of them are undetected by the local communities.
There are several examples of earthquake triggered landslides, viz. a major
landslip occurred in 1880 at Sher-ka-danda ridge of Nainital hills after an
earthquake (Pande, 2006).

There are many other examples of earthquake-induced landslides in India.

The Assam earthquake of 1950 caused landslides in more than 15 thousand
square km area of the Northeastern Himalaya. The Uttarkashi earthquake of
1991 and its aftershocks triggered hundreds of landslides, which have been
compiled in Table 2 (Bhandari, 2006).

Table 2. Uttarkashi earthquake induced landslides

Area Type of slides
Tehri_Uttarkashi Rock masses were found to be
dislodged
Uttarkashi-Kanaudia Gad A number of landslides occurred in the
terrain composed of river borne
material as well as rock outcrops
Gangari-Aghora Many cases of rock dislodgments and
two major landslides
Dharasu-Barkot Rock dislodgements
Uttarkashi-Kishanput Sukinidhar Many cases of rock dislodgments and
landslides. Cracking in river banks that
caused collapsing of high retaining
walls
Bhaldiyana-Sukinidhar A number of rockslides and rock
dislodgments
Dhanutri-Kamand A number of landlsides mostly in
overburden material
Kund-Gauri Kund Rock dislodgments and a few
landslides
Tilwara-Chirbatia Some rock dislodgments

Similarly, a number of landslides were reported after the Chamoli

earthquake in 1999 also. There were about new 20 landslides of different
dimensions observed in various parts of Chamoli region and about 6 landslides
were found to be reactivated (Ravindran and Phillip, 2002).

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 The magnitude 7.6 Muzzafarabad earthquake of October 8, 2005
triggered hundreds of landslides and rock avalanches. Translational and
rotational landslides, shallow rockslides and debris flows have been reported
(Bhandari, 2006).

Concentrated rainfall

The concentrated rain fall in a region may lead to cloud burst, and is
another important external factor triggering the landslides. This phenomenon
may lead to a sudden increase in pore water pressure, decrease in the shear
strength of the slope materials and at the same time increasing effective total
weight. This may lead to sudden failures. Often this phenomenon is responsible
for debris flow and consequent extremely high damages in Himalaya. When
sustained rainfall occurs in an area, this leads to disintegration of slope materials
consisting mainly of debris. This leads to debris flow down the slope. When this
phenomenon is associated with gullies, then the steep slopes below may lead to
terrific effects of erosion and large scale damages.

It is a general observation that the landslides mostly occur during

monsoon season after a heavy spell of rain. The clayey and marly materials
shrink during dry spell, but swell under moist conditions, creating situation
conductive to mass movement, including earth-flows. The Himalayan region is
sometimes visited by incessant rain that continues for more than a week at a
stretch. The examples are commonly observed in the terrain of crystalline rocks
in the Champawat-Almora-Ranikhet-Masi and Pauri-Lansdowne belts.
Landslides of 1880, 1898, 1924, 1939 and 1943 took place after the heavy
rainfall. Tawaghat-Khela landslides in Pithoragarh district followed heavy rainfall.
Sirvari landslides (17-18 July, 1986) reveals a similar story. The landslides
ravaged basin area of two small tributaries of Alaknanda brought a large volume
of boulders on 20 July 1970. Block slides in limestone, dolomite and quartzite

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resulting from heavy rainfall are quite common in Nainital, Mussoorie-Gohna
Lake area (Birahi valley), Pakhi-Belkutchi-Patalganga (Alaknand valley), Satpuli
and Marora (Nayar valley) and in the Kapkot-Tejam-Jaulgibi belt (Pande, 2006).

3.3.2 Anthropogenic factors

These factors originate from intermingling of the mankind with the earth
surface and include deforestation, improper land use, poorly planned
construction activities, urbanization etc.

Deforestation

Plant roots have the tendency to bind soil and thus they are helpful to
retard slope instability unless the failure plane is very deep i.e. beyond the root
zone. This factor contributes for many Himalayan landslides, as intensive
deforestation is reported in many parts of the Himalaya.

Improper land use

The improper land use can be gauged from the following activities,

 Agricultural practices on steep slopes,

 Irrigation on steep and vulnerable slopes,
 Overgrazing and
 Quarrying for construction materials without considering
condition of the terrain

Poorly planned construction activities

Often, improper selection of the site or lack of terrain capability evaluation

before the placement of infrastructures such hill roads and canals may cause

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