Book Review of "Debris Flows – Mechanics, Prediction and Countermeasures"

Abstract

DEBRIS FLOWS – MECHANICS, PREDICTION AND COUNTERMEASURES, BY: TAMOTSU TAKAHASHI, TAYLOR & FRANCIS, LONDON, UK, 448 PAGES, ISBN 978-0-415-43552-9 (HARDBACK), ISBN 978-0-20394628-2 (E-BOOK), PRICE: £ 68.00, US$ 119.95, 2007. Debris flows are a common type of mass movement in mountain areas worldwide. A much diversified and still not fully understood hydraulic and geomorphological phenomenon, debris flows can be highly destructive. Some of the largest landslide catastrophes in the world have been caused by debris flow events. Due to the geological, morphological, and climatic setting, Japan is particularly prone to debris flows. It is therefore no surprise that Japanese scientists and engineers have long investigated debris flows. Professor Tamotsu Takahashi, a prominent scientist and research engineer, devoted his carrier to the investigation of debris flows and to the design of countermeasures to mitigate the risk posed by debris flows and related sediment transport phenomena. Some of his contributions to the field are considered fundamental by debris flow investigators, and are widely cited in the international literature. In this book, Professor Takahashi has not attempted a systematic or comprehensive review of the vast international literature on debris flows. Rather, he has presented the results of his own work and the work of his numerous collaborators, chiefly at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute of Kyoto University, over a period of more than 40 years. With this respect, the book distils the “Japanese approach” to the investigation, prediction and mitigation of debris flows. The book is organized into seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to debris flows and examines taxonomy, explaining the rationale for a mechanical classification of debris flows. Chapter 2 presents theoretical results and experimental data, and discusses models for the mechanics of