Spatial distribution of landslide dams triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

Xuanmei Fan*, Cees J. van Westen, Qiang Xu, Tolga Gorum, Fuchu Dai, Gonghui Wang, Runqiu Huang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademicpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Landslide dams are a common type of river disturbance in tectonically active mountain belts with narrow and steep valleys. Here we present an unprecedented inventory of 828 landslide dams triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, China. Of the 828 landslide dams, 501 completely dammed the rivers, while the others only caused partial damming. The spatial distribution of landslide dams was similar to that of the total landslide distribution, with landslide dams being most abundant in the steep watersheds of the hanging wall of the Yingxiu-Beichuan Thrust Fault, and in the northeastern part of the strike-slip fault near Qingchuan. We analyzed the relation between landslide dam distribution and a series of seismic, topographic, geological, and hydrological factors.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationLandslide Science and Practice
Subtitle of host publicationComplex Environment
EditorsClaudio Margottini, Paolo Canuti, Kyoji Sassa
Place of PublicationBerlin
PublisherSpringer
Pages279-285
Number of pages7
Volume5
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-642-31427-8
ISBN (Print)978-3-642-31426-1, 978-3-662-52232-5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013
Event2nd World Landslide Forum, WLF 2011 - Rome, Italy
Duration: 3 Oct 20119 Oct 2011
Conference number: 2

Conference

Conference2nd World Landslide Forum, WLF 2011
Abbreviated titleWLF
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityRome
Period3/10/119/10/11

Keywords

  • Landslide
  • Landslide dam
  • Spatial distribution
  • Wenchuan earthquake

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