Investigation and dynamic analysis of the long runout catastrophic landslide at the Shenzhen landfill on December 20, 2015, in Guangdong, China

Abstract

At 11:40 a.m., December 20, 2015, a catastrophic landslide occurred in Shenzhen, Guangdong, Southeast China. Seventy-seven people were killed, and 33 buildings were buried or damaged, which were in the direct path of the landslide at the Guangming New District. The landslide involved 2.73 million m3 of the municipal solid waste (MSW) and had a horizontal runout distance of 1100 m, over a vertical distance of 113 m, which was equivalent to a Fahrboschung of 6°, and covered an area of 0.38 km2. Basic post-failure characteristics are described in this study. Dynamic simulation software (DANW) and rheological models were used to simulate the runout behavior of the displaced landslide material, in order to provide information for the hazard zonation of similar types of potential MSW landslides. The simulated results revealed that a combination of the frictional model and Voellmy model is able to provide the best performance in simulating this landslide. Also, the results showed that this landslide had a duration of about 50 s, with a maximum velocity of 22.4 m/s. It was expected that these models and parameters could improve the accuracy of future hazard assessments of areas with geological, topographical, and climatic features similar to the Shenzhen Hong’ao landfill.