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Activity and distribution of geohazards induced by the Lushan earthquake, April 20, 2013

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Abstract

An Ms7.0 earthquake, focal depth 13 km, struck Lushan on April 20, 2013, caused 196 deaths and 21 missing, 13,484 injuries, and affected more than two million people. A field investigation was taken immediately after the quake, and the induced hazards were analyzed in comparison with the Wenchuan earthquake. We have identified 1,460 landslides and avalanches and four dammed lakes, which were generally small and concentrated on high elevation. Avalanches and rockfalls developed in cliffs and steep slopes of hard rocks, including Jinjixia of Baosheng Town and Dayanxia of Shuangshi Town, Lushan, and the K317 section the Xiaoguanzi section north to Lingguan Town along the provincial highway S210. Landslides were relatively less, mainly in moderate and small scales, developing in sandstone, shale, and loose colluviums. Only one single large landslide was observed to turn into debris slide-flow. Dammed lakes were formed by avalanches and landslides, all in small size and of low danger degree. The earthquake-induced hazards distributed in belt on the hanging wall along the faults, and their major controlling factors include tectonics, lithology, structure surface, and landform. More than 99 % landslides were within 30 km to the epicenter, and 678 within 10 km, accounting for 46 % of the total; about 50 % landslides were distributed on slopes between 35° and 55°, and 11 % on slope exceeding 75°; 60 % on slopes at the altitudes between 1,000 and 1,500 m, 77 % on slopes between 900 and 1,500 m; and 24 and 62 % in hard rocks and section between hard and soft rocks, respectively. Compared with the case of Wenchuan earthquake, both the number and extension of landslides and avalanches in Lushan earthquake-affected area are much smaller, only 5.53 % in number and 0.57 % in area. The earthquake has increased the instability of slope and potentiality of landslide and debris flow. Accordingly, the active period is expected to be relatively short comparing with that in Wenchuan earthquake-hit area. However, the insidious and concealed hazards bring difficulty for risk investigation.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Key Project of Chinese Academy of Science (Grant No. KZZD-EW-05-01) and Key Project of Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41030742). The Authors thank two anonymous reviewer’s valuable comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Mountain Hazards and Surface Process, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Science, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Peng Cui, Jianqiang Zhang, Zongji Yang, Xiaoqing Chen, Yong You & Yong Li

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  1. Peng Cui
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  2. Jianqiang Zhang
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Correspondence to Peng Cui.

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Cui, P., Zhang, J., Yang, Z. et al. Activity and distribution of geohazards induced by the Lushan earthquake, April 20, 2013. Nat Hazards 73, 711–726 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-014-1100-0

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