Approaches to landslide risk assessment in China

Abstract

The lessons from some catastrophic landslides, especially landslides triggered by the Wenchuan Earthquake told us that the mechanism of such landslides is different from the usual and that risk assessment of these slides needs a new code.Within the IPL programs "Long run-out and Catastrophic Landslides study: Yigong Landslide, Tibet China" (IPL138), and "Seismic landslide hazards mapping in Sichuan" (IPL142) China Geology Survey, as the leader in China in landslides research, initiated several research projects on rapid and long runout landslides and earthquake-triggered landslides, to find a way to recognize this kind of landslide in China and develop technical guidelines. This paper analyzes the mechanism of a new failure pattern which is most likely triggered by gravity, karstification and the processes associated with mining activities, as well as some new approaches in landslide mapping, the study of landslide mechanisms and recovery guidelines for landslides triggered by earthquakes.