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Natural Disasters

The document discusses landslides, including what they involve, their causes, examples of historical landslides, and their economic and social impacts. It also describes how landslides can be monitored and measured and ways to potentially reduce their impacts.

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Eileen Tran
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58 views2 pages

Natural Disasters

The document discusses landslides, including what they involve, their causes, examples of historical landslides, and their economic and social impacts. It also describes how landslides can be monitored and measured and ways to potentially reduce their impacts.

Uploaded by

Eileen Tran
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Landslides

What do they involve


Landslides encompass five modes of slope movement: falls, topples, slides, spreads, and
flows. These are further subdivided by the type of geologic material (bedrock, debris, or
earth). Debris flows (commonly referred to as mudflows or mudslides) and rock falls are
examples of common landslide types.

1. Damage
Landslides affect the lithosphere and are able to change the topography of the
earth’s surface. THe destruction of crops and livestock can also pose a detrimental
effect on the environment, as the sustainable practice of farming keeps the land
healthy. Landslides also destroy the habitats of natural wildlife and impact the other
spheres such as the hydrosphere. Material on landslides can block rivers and
increase the risk of floods, while also polluting streams with excess sediment.

2. Monitor or measure
Landslides can be measured through satellite radar images to capture early warning
signs. Landslides are monitored using vibrating wire piezometers, accurately
measuring the pore water pressure, as if excess in pore water pressure occurs, it can
trigger landslides. The movement and deformation of the land can be estimated with
the help of sensors like in-place inclinometers, extensometers, crack metres,
tiltmeters, etc. To be alerted of landslides, geotechnical instruments are connected to
a data logger that records the readings at regular intervals. In case the output
surpasses the selected intervals, it will trigger an alarm and send out an alert
message to the required authorities. Data can be transferred using SDI-12 bus,
cellular network, or radiofrequency technologies, depending on site conditions.

3. Cause
Almost every landslide has multiple causes, these causes can be due to factors that
increase the effects of downslope forces and factors that contribute to low or reduced
strength. Landslides can be a result of slopes already on the verge of movement by
rainfall, snowmelt. Changes in water level, stream erosion, changes in groundwater,
earthquakes, volcanic activity, disturbance by human activities or a combination of
any of these factors. Overall landslides are created by many factors, and there is not
a definite cause.

4. Historical example
The 1920 Haiyuan Landslides in China, which was created by the Haiyuan
earthquake, which had a magnitude of 8.5, these series of landslides occurred in
Haiyuan county, in the northwest of China. There were thousands of these
landslides, resulting in around 200,000 deaths and many blockages of water.
The Vargas tragedy, Venezuela in 1999 was the cause of 30,000 deaths. A relentless
downpour of heavy rain on the slopes of Sierra de Avila laid the foundation for fatal
landslides on December 15, 1999. The rainstorms brought many landslides which
destroyed nearby villages, and made it difficult for people to survive. The landslides
completely buried the town of Carmen de Uria and Cerro grande and many homes
were washed into the oceans. The calamity was so dreadful that many bodies could
not be retrieved as they sank beyond a recovery point, and even some washed away
into the sea. Only around 1000 bodies could be retrieved out of the 30,000.

5. Economic impact
Landslides can negatively impact the environment by damaging land and facilities
that could help generate income. For example, landslides can damage real estate,
which may be a form of investment for some people. If the real estate is destroyed by
landslides, then some investors will be receiving less income. It could also destroy
schools, which can be destructive to children’s education and affect the skills of
children to get a job in the future, negatively impacting the economic future. The cost
to also rebuild these facilities would also be significantly impactful to the economy.
Another negative economic impact of landslides is the loss of lives. People work in
order to live, so if some lives are lost, then there will be less workers and therefore
decreased productivity.

6. Reduce impact
Even though there are not many things that can be done to prevent landslides, its
impacts on society can be reduced. Some examples include:
● Not building infrastructure to sites that are prone to landslides
● Building walls along the ends of the slopes of hills so that the material that
deposits would not destroy roads or other buildings
● Planting trees along the ends of the slopes of hills so that the material that
deposits would not destroy roads or other buildings
● Improving drainage systems
● Flattening the slope

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