Landslides: Introduction and

classification

Lecture 27
Dr. Abhishek Kumar
Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
Webpage: [Link]
Introduction
▪ General term used to describe the “downslope
movement of soil, rocks, and organic materials
under the effect of gravity” (USGS, 2009).

▪ Parts of a typical landslide

➢ Crown
➢ Main scarp
➢ Head
➢ Main body
➢ Foot
➢ Toe Fig.1 illustration showing different components of a landslide
(modified after Varnes, 1978)
➢ Surface of rupture
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
Types of landslides
▪ Landslides are classified into different types on the basis of type of movement
and the type of material involved.
▪ Materials involved in landslides are generally soil and rocks.
▪ Soil is described as “Earth” if composed of sand size or fine particles, and
“debris” if composed of coarser fragments.
▪ Types of movement describes the internal mechanics involved during the
displacement of landmass.
• Falls • Spreads
➢ Rockfalls ➢ Lateral spreads
➢ Topple • Flows
• Slides ➢ Debris flows
➢ Rotational landslide ➢ Lahars (Volcanic debris flows)
➢ Translational landslide ➢ Earthflow

Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT

Guwahati
1. Falls
▪ A fall starts with the detachment of soil or rocks, or both, from a steep slope along
a surface on which little or no shear displacement has occurred.
➢ Rockfalls
▪ Abrupt downward movement of rocks or earth or
both, detaching from steep slopes or vertical cliffs.
Vertical cliff
▪ Detaching material descends by falling, bouncing
and rolling.

▪ Triggered by:
• Undercutting of slope by natural processes such
as streams and rivers or differential weathering
(freeze/thaw) cycle,
• Human activities such as excavation during road
building and (or) maintenance, and
Fig. 2 Schematic of a rockfall (modified
• Earthquake shaking or other intense vibrations. from Cruden and Varnes,1996)
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
➢ Topple
▪ Forward rotation (out of a slope) of a mass of soil
or rock around a point or axis below the center of
gravity of the displaced mass. Toppling
▪ Can occur both in rock mass or earth materials.
▪ Prevalent in columnar-jointed volcanic terrain,
steep banks along stream and river courses.

▪ Triggered by:
• Gravity exerted by the material located upslope
from the displacing mass,
Point of rotation
• Water or ice occurring in cracks within the
mass,
• Vibrations,
• Undercutting or excavation, Fig. 3 Schematic of a topple (modified
• Differential weathering, from Cruden and Varnes,1996)
• Stream erosion. Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
2. Slides Main scarp

▪ Downslope movement of a soil or rock mass

occurring along the surfaces of rupture or on
relatively thin zones of intense shear strain.
➢ Rotational landslide Toe
▪ A landslide on which the surface of rupture is
curved upward (spoon-shaped).
▪ The slide movement is rotational about an axis Fig. 4 illustration of a rotational landslide
(modified from Cruden and Varnes,1996)
that is parallel to the contour of the slope.
▪ Prevalent in homogeneous slopes with slope angle ranging from 20° to 40°.
▪ Rate of movement can vary in between 0.3m/ 5year to 1.5m/ month.
▪ Triggered by:
• Intense or sustained rainfall or rapid snow melt.
• Rise and drop in ground water level after flooding and reservoir filling,
respectively.
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
• Earthquake induced. Guwahati
➢ Translational landslide
▪ The mass moves out, or down and outward, along a relatively planar surface with
little rotational movement or backward tilting.
▪ Commonly occurs along geologic discontinuities such as faults, joints, bedding
surfaces, or the contact between rocks and soil.
▪ Most commonly type of landslide occurring in
every environment and conditions.
▪ Rate of movement can vary in between
1.5m/month to 1.5m/day.
Rupture
▪ Triggered by: surface
• Intense or sustained rainfall
• Rise in ground water within the slide due to
rainfall, snowmelt, flooding, etc. Toe

• Human-related disturbances such as

undercutting. Fig. 5 Schematic of translational landslide
• Earthquake induced. (modified from Cruden and Varnes,1996)
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
3. Spreads
▪ Extension of a cohesive soil or rock mass accompanied by the general subsidence
of the fractured mass of cohesive material into softer material beneath.
➢ Lateral spreads
▪ Occur on very gentle slopes or essentially flat terrain, where a stronger upper
layer of rock or soil undergoes extension and moves above an underlying softer or
weaker layer.
▪ Generally accompanied by some general subsidence into the weaker underlying
soil. Firm clay
▪ Triggered by:
• Liquefaction induced by earthquakes.
• Natural or anthropogenic overloading of the
ground above an unstable slope.
• Saturation of underlying weaker layer due to Soft clay with
precipitation, snowmelt etc. water bearing silt
Bedrock and sand layer
• Plastic deformation of unstable material at
Fig. 6 Schematic of a lateral spread
depth (e.g. salt). Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT (modified from Cruden and Varnes,1996)
Guwahati
4. Flows
▪ Flows are spatially continuous movement of materials in which the surfaces of
shear are short-lived and closely spaced.
▪ Rate of movement of displacing mass resembles with that of a viscous liquid.
➢ Debris flows/mudflows
▪ Rapid mass movement in which loose soil, rocks,
and occasionally organic matter combine with
water to form a slurry that flows downslope.
▪ At higher water content slides may evolve into
debris flows.
▪ Rapid mass movement (35km/ h).

▪ Triggered by:
Fig. 7 illustration showing a typical debris flow
• Intense surface water flow induced by heavy (modified from Cruden and Varnes,1996)
rainfall or snowmelt.
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
Landslide causes and triggering mechanisms
1. Physical causes 2. Human causes

• Intense rainfall • Excavation of slope or its toe

• Rapid snow melt • Using unstable earth fills for the construction
• Earthquake • Drawdown or sudden filling of reservoirs
• Volcanic eruption • Deforestation
• Prolonged intense • Mining
precipitation • Machine induced vibrations such as pile driving,
• Thawing explosions etc.
• Flooding • Leakage from water or sewer pipes
• Shrink and swell • Diversion works constructed to alter the river
weathering current (construction of piers, dikes, weirs etc.)
• Loading of slope

Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT

Guwahati
( conti...)

3. Natural causes

Geological causes Morphological causes

• Weak materials, such as volcanic slopes • Tectonic or volcanic uplift

or unconsolidated marine sediments • Glacial rebound
• Weathered materials • Fluvial erosion of slope toe
• Sheared materials • Glacial erosion of slope
• Jointed or fissured materials toe
• Adversely oriented mass discontinuity • Glacial melt water outburst
(bedding, schistosity etc.) • Vegetation removal by
• Adversely oriented structural discontinuity forest fire or draught
(fault, unconformity, contact etc.) • Erosion of lateral margins
• Contrast in permeability • Deposition loading on
• Contrast in stiffness slope or its crest
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
 Effects and consequences of landslides
▪ Effects on built environment
• Damage to residential dwellings as landslides destabilize or destroy foundations,
walls, surrounding property, and above-ground and underground utilities.
• Damage to trunk sewer, water, or electrical lines and common-use roads.
• Cut and fill failures along roadways and railways, as well as collapse of roads from
underlying weak and slide-prone soils and fill.
• Road or rail blockage by dirt, debris, and (or) rocks
• Temporary or long-term closing of crucial routes for commerce, tourism, and
emergency activities.
• Rockfalls may injure or kill motorists and pedestrians and damage structures.
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
 ▪ Effects on natural environment
• Submarine landslide:- Downslope mass movement of geologic materials
from shallower to deeper regions of the ocean.
• Major effects to the depth of shorelines, ultimately affecting boat dockings and
navigation.
• Can trigger deadly tsunamis.
• Destructive to aquatic life, such as fish and kelp.
• Rapid deposition of sediments in water bodies often changes the water quality
around vulnerable shorelines.
• Formation of landslide dams which are short- lived, the failure of which can
affect the areas downstream of it.
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
 Landslide stabilization and mitigation
▪ Earth slope stabilization/ mitigation
▪ Rock slope stabilization/ mitigation
▪ Debris flow mitigation
1. Earth slope stabilization/ mitigation

▪ Excavation ▪ Drainage techniques

• Removal of soil from the head of slide • Ditches and drains
• Reducing the height of slopes • Retaining walls
• Backfilling with lightweight materials • Gabion walls
• Benches • Timber cribs
• Flattening or reducing slope angle • Piles
▪ Strengthening slope • Reinforced earth walls
• Plastic mesh reinforcement ▪ Slope stabilization using
• Rockfill buttresses vegetation
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
2. Rock slope
3. Debris flow mitigation
stabilization/mitigation
▪ Strengthening slopes for debris flows
▪ Safe catching techniques
• Planting vegetation on slopes
• Catch ditches
• Strengthening of soil against
• Cable, mesh, fencing and
erosion
rock curtains
▪ Structures for mitigating debris flows
• Retaining walls
• Debris-flow basins
• Rock sheds/ shelters
• Check dams
▪ Excavation of rock
• Debris-flow retaining walls
• Benching
▪ Landslide dam mitigation
• Scaling and trimming
• Diversion of inflow water
▪ Reinforcing potential rockfall
• Draining out of water through
areas
pumps or siphons
• Shotcrete and Guniting
• Drainage tunnel through abutments
• Anchors, bolts and dowels
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
Thank you
Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT
Guwahati
References
1. Highland, L.M., and Bobrowsky, Peter, 2008. The landslide handbook—A guide to understanding
landslides: Reston, Virginia, U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1325, 129 p.

2. Cruden, D.M, and Varnes, D.J., 1996. Landslide types and processes, in Turner, A. Keith, and Schuster,
Robert L. eds. Landslides—Investigation and mitigation: Transportation Research Board, Special report no.
247, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., p. 36–75.

3. Varnes, D.J., 1978. Slope movement types and processes, in Schuster, R.L., and Krizek, R. J., eds.,
Landslides— Analysis and control: Transportation Research Board Special Report 176, National Research
Council, Washington, D.C., p. 11–23.

Applied Seismology for Engineers, Dr Abhishek Kumar, IIT

Guwahati