Landslide is a geological phenomenon involving downward movement of large

quantities of materials such as rock, earth, sand, and clay in any combination (Fig.
21.1). The movement of materials may be very slow from a few millimetres to a few
centimetres per year, when it is called creep. In a flow type of landslide, the materials
may move very fast, even over 15 km/h. The collapse of the masses in a landslide may
also be very sudden as in an avalanche, especially in steep hill slopes of high
mountainous terrain.
Landslides are classified in

 nature of materials

 depths of sliding

 speed of mass movement

 nature of the failure plane.

The mechanism of material movement, which includes falling, toppling, sliding, or

flowing,
 Falls are abrupt movement of masses of geological materials (rocks, soils, and
debris) (Fig. 21.3).
 Differential weathering, erosion and undercutting of slope are main factors

 In general, hill slopes steeper than 45° are generally involved in falls.
Toppling of the soil or rock blocks takes place along planes of discontinuities by
forward rotation with respect to the point below the sliding mass.
The rocks involved in a topple move by action of gravity or forces exerted by adjacent
blocks.
When the centre of gravity (CG) of rock blocks fall outside the rock mass, then there is
a possibility of toppling.
 The slide type of failure may take place in varied types of materials
including rock, soil, and debris.
 Faults, shear zones, joints, and bedding or foliation planes of rock are
usually the planes of weaknesses along which the masses slide.
The two main types of landslides under this category are
 Rotational slide
 Translational slide.
Rotational slide
In this type of slide, which basically occurs in soil zone, the surface of rupture
is curved concavely upward, and the movement is caused by rotation of the slid
material about an axis parallel to the ground slope and transverse across the
slide direction.
Translational slide
During transitional slide movement of materials takes place along a more or
less flat (planar) surface, sometimes with a slight backward tilting (Fig. 21.8).
The surfaces of ruptures are usually the contact planes between firm rock and
overlying loose earth, bedding planes of layered rock, and other weak planes in
rock or earth deposit.
Lateral Spreads
Lateral spread type of mass movement occurs in flat or low relief areas in
saturated soil consisting of loose sediments (sand and silt) that fail by
liquefaction. Loose sediments underlying and overlying firm and coherent mass
(dense soil or rock) may liquefy when fractures are developed in the overlying
coherent materials due to shear and tensile stresses. (Fig. 21.10)
Flows
The movement of masses is like the flow of fluid plastic in viscous state.
Depending upon the material involved and the rate of movement, flows are
classified into four groups, namely rock flow, debris flow, earth or mudflow,
and creep.
Debris flow
Debris flow is the most destructive type of landslide and results after heavy
rains or extensive melting of snow in the source area due to super saturation of
the ground with water.
The materials involved in the debris flow include large quantities of rock
fragments or boulders and loose soil with sand, silt, clay, and organic matter,
the fine particles (2 mm or less) being less than 50 per cent.
Earthflow
Heavy rainfall in the hilly terrain of a moderate slope constituted of soil or earth
deposit is the immediate cause of earthflow.
pore water pressure and reduces the shear strength of the soil deposit, resulting
in sliding of the slope materials as slurry of earth or mud with water (Fig.
21.13).
The materials involved in earthflow are mainly fine grained particles (clay, silt,
and fine sand).
If the earthflow contains materials as high as 50 per cent of fines, it is normally
called mudflow. The rate of material movement in earthflow is slow to rapid (>
1.8 m/s or nearly 6 km/h or more), whereas in the mudflow it is rapid to very
rapid (> 5 m/s or over 18 km/h).
Complex
Severe landslides may take place by the combination of two or more types of
material movements, namely falls, topples, slides, flows, and lateral spreads.
This combined effect of mass movement is termed complex. Such slides of
combined nature are distinctly visible in many highways.
CAUSES OF LANDSLIDES
Two types of forces operate landslides, namely driving forces and resisting forces.
The driving forces (shear stresses) act to cause movement of the masses whereas
resisting forces (shear strength) tend to resist the slides.
Gravity is the principal driving force of landslide movement.
The other forces involved in the movement of masses include earthquake, water
filtration, freezing and thawing action, and volcanic eruption.
Geological Processes
Geological processes are primarily responsible for causing morphological
change of land slope and instability of landmass in different ways as follows:
(i) Erosion brings about a change in morphological features including
steepening of land that are prone to slides. Erosion also helps removal of
cement and fines from materials that weaken the strength of slope materials
resulting in slope failures.
(ii) Weathering of rock changes the physical and chemical properties that bring
about reduction of shear strength, thereby promoting landslides.
(iii) Divisional planes in rocks such as adversely oriented faults, joints, and
other planes of discontinuities often cause rock fall type of landslides.
(iv) Swelling and expansion are also associated with upheaval resulting in
landslides.
(v) Shearing, jointing, and fissuring are other geological factors that weaken the
strength of materials and promote landslides.
(vi) Leaching of certain ingredients from the earth creates sensitive clays (e.g.,
quick clay), which may cause serious landslides (Section 5.9).
Human Actions
(i) Cutting of ground slope for various constructions such as buildings, roads,
railways, and other utility purposes, especially in hilly areas, leads to slope
failure and movement of slope-forming materials including fractured and
weathered rocks (Fig. 21.19).
(ii) Construction for human settlement in unstable areas is responsible for many
landslides.
(iii) Blasting during mining or rock quarrying weakens the stability of land
slopes and triggers their failure.
(iv) Vibration of machineries during engineering construction is another reason
to initiate failure of unconsolidated materials.
(v) Dumping of rocks or soil in a place after digging of ground or stockpiling of
ore develops stress in weak underlying materials and initiates their slide
movement.
(vi) Vegetation and tree roots help in the binding of shallow soil deposit with
the underlying bedrock. Cutting of trees and removal of vegetation cover are
responsible for sliding of soil deposit over the bedrock.
(vii) Overgrazing is also a common cause of slide movement of unconsolidated
soil deposits.
(viii) Water leakage from utilities is another factor responsible for slides.
Natural Causes
(i) Landslides are mostly associated with heavy rainfall. Saturation of ground
by heavy rains or rapid snowmelt is responsible for the mudflows or debris
flow including debris avalanche.
(ii) Erosion or undercutting of slopes by rivers results in slope failures in river
valley areas.
(iii) Earthquakes induce stresses that bring about failure of weak slopes
sometimes as liquefaction when material moves like a liquid.
(iv) Filtration of excessive water to ground causes groundwater pressure that
often acts to destabilize the ground slope.
(v) Volcanic eruption that causes accumulation of loose materials and ash later
generates extensive debris flow with water pressure due to rains.
(vi) Ocean waves may also create overs steepening of seashore and bring about
coastal slide of the shore materials.
(vii) Freezing and thawing processes in high-altitude regions may generate
loose slope materials.
LANDSLIDE HAZARD MITIGATION
Five types of methods are generally adopted in landslide mitigation, which are
afforestation, modification of slope geometry, drainage arrangements, slope
reinforcement, and provision of retaining structures.
Bioengineering or Afforestation
 Trees largely increase the stability of the underlying ground by increasing
root strength, intercepting the direct effect of precipitation, and reducing
pore pressure by evapotranspiration.
 vegetation cover need to be adopted in the landslide-prone areas
Modification of Slope Geometry and Prevention of Land Erosion
The geometric modification of hill slopes or changing the shape of the slope surface is a
cost effective way of stabilizing a slope. The success of the method, however, depends
on the size, shape, and position of the slope. In this measure, the angle of the soil slope
is reduced by cutting a part of the top surface or depositing fill materials on the foot of
the slope (Fig. 21.22).

 Several types of anti-erosion and environment-friendly biomats and bionets

(synthetic products) are now available, which can be spread over the re-profiled
surface to prevent erosion.
Drainage Arrangements in Relation to Groundwater Management
Drainage is the widely used and most effective method in stabilizing ground, especially
when used in combination with modification of slope geometry. Slope stabilization by
drainage is also less expensive than other landslide mitigation measures. An integrated
drainage arrangement for the re-profiled slope includes diverting surface run-off from
the unstable area by shallow surface channels and lowering of groundwater level by
deep drains and trenches. If groundwater occurs at a shallow depth, generally a
combination of vertical boreholes connected with sub-horizontal (10°–15°) boreholes
oriented uphill are used for drainage by gravity. Shallow unbroken drainage trenches
filled with permeable granular material and connected by perforated pipes at their
bottom parts are also very effective in removing water from the soil mass at a shallow
depth (Fig. 21.23).
Slope Reinforcement
 The work approach in soil reinforcement is basically done in two ways, which
involve insertion of reinforcement elements such as anchoring and nailing in the
ground.
 It is then followed by improvement of the mechanical character of slope material by
consolidation or bonding by the process of grouting with varied admixtures.
 The anchoring technique is adopted to stabilize soil mass of failed slope or ground
of impending failure. The anchors increase the resistive force of the unstable ground
mass to prevent failure by driving forces.
 The ground slope is first treated by reinforced concrete for grip of the anchors and
the anchors are then inserted fairly deep into the ground slope (Fig. 21.25). bulb by
means of injected mortar.
 Grouting of the slope material is often done successfully to stabilize the ground of
unconsolidated materials. (cement–water–bentonite)
Retaining Structures
By far, the common practice of protecting slope failures is to provide some kind of a
retaining structure to the slope surface. Gravity retention structures used include
masonry or stacked masonry wall, concrete wall, rubble filled masonry wall, and rock-
filed gabion wall (Fig. 21.27). Of these, the stacked masonry walls of dimension stones
(Fig. 21.28) at places with wire wrapping and concrete walls are common.

The modern methods used in land slope stabilization, namely nailing, use of geogrids,
cellular faces, coir geotextiles, and steel wire mesh, are important.