Key factors influencing the mechanism of rapid and long runout landslides triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, China

Fawu Wang,Lynn Highland,Qiangong Cheng,Ping Sun

doi:10.1186/s40677-014-0001-6

Fawu Wang, Lynn Highland + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40677-014-0001-6

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Abstract

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake triggered many rapid and long runout landslides, which directly caused great loss of property and human lives and were responsible for a large percentage of total damages caused by the earthquake. It is very important for the purposes of landslide disaster prevention and mitigation to understand the earthquake triggered mechanism of initiation and motion of rapid and long runout landslides, which can potentially be the deadliest of ground failures. In this paper, field investigations of some highly damaging landslides caused by the Wenchuan earthquake are introduced first, and followed by data from ring shear tests used to simulate the initiation and motion of one landslide in particular, the Donghekou complex landslide. It was found that groundwater and valley water played key roles in the rapid motion and long runout process of this landslide during the great earthquake.

Highlights

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake triggered many rapid and long runout landslides, which directly caused great loss of property and human lives and were responsible for a large percentage of total damages caused by the earthquake
The Wenchuan earthquake occurred at 14:28 local Beijing time on 12 May 2008 in Sichuan Province of China (Cui et al 2009; Huang and Li 2009)
Using the undrained ring shear apparatus developed at Kyoto University, Japan (Sassa 1997; Sassa et al 2004), two types of simulation tests were conducted. They are: (a) Simulation test to clarify the initiation mechanism of the Donghekou complex slide triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake and (b) Test to simulate the movement when the failed sliding mass loaded onto the valley deposits, and clarify the motion mechanism for long runout and in high speeds

Summary

Results

Field investigations of some highly damaging landslides caused by the Wenchuan earthquake are introduced first, and followed by data from ring shear tests used to simulate the initiation and motion of one landslide in particular, the Donghekou complex landslide

Conclusions

Background