Applicability of Newmark method at regional, sub-regional and site scales: seismically induced Bullas and La Paca rock-slide cases (Murcia, SE Spain)

In this paper, the applicability of the Newmark method at regional, sub-regional and site scales has been investigated in the Lorca Basin (Murcia). This basin is located in one of the most seismically active regions of Spain. The area is very interesting for studying earthquake-induced slope instabilities as there are well-known cases associated with specific earthquakes. For the regional and sub-regional scales, a geographic information system has been used to develop an implementation of Newmark sliding rigid block method. Soil and topographic amplification effects have been particularly considered. Subsequently, ‘Newmark displacement’ maps for deterministic seismic scenarios have been produced. Some specific studies have also been performed using limit equilibrium methods to estimate the safety factor and the critical acceleration of certain slope instabilities at a site scale. These instabilities were the rock slides related to recent seismic series at the Lorca Basin: 2002 Bullas (M _w = 5.0) and 2005 La Paca (M _w = 4.8). Finally, the safety factor, critical acceleration and Newmark displacement values estimated at different scales have been compared to determine which scale is most suitable for the Newmark method.     

Development of shallow seismic landslide potential map based on Newmark’s displacement: the case study of Chi-Chi earthquake, Taiwan

With the development of the geographic information system (GIS), the analysis of regional slope stability under seismic loading has evolved rapidly in recent years. In many studies, the Newmark’s method is used for the computation of displacements triggered by an earthquake on a single slope, while for regional analysis, the infinite slope theory is frequently used due to its simplicity when large amount of computations are required. In this research, the infinite slope theory was examined considering various seismic conditions, material properties, and slope geometry to verify the suitability of the method when applied to regional analysis and development of potential shallow landslide maps. The landslide cases induced by Chi-Chi earthquake in central Taiwan were used in this study for verification. It was found that the infinite slope theory is valid for regional analysis when used with discretion. Based on the calculated Newmark’s displacement and combining the GIS technique, procedures for the potential map development are established in this study.     

地震荷载作用下顺层岩体边坡变形特征分析

应用二维离散元程序UDEC计算了地震荷载作用下边坡的位移,并将计算结果与Newmark法计算结果及震后现场实测值进行了对比。结果表明,Newmark法计算得到的位移值较实测值偏小,离散元计算得到的位移结果较Newmark法更接近于实测值。在此基础上,初步分析了地震荷载作用下坡高、坡角、岩层倾角等因素对顺层岩体边坡位移的影响规律。由分析结果可知,地震荷载下顺层岩体边坡的位移并不随坡高增加而单调增大,在坡高约100 m时位移达到最大值,坡高超高100 m位移反而有所降低;当坡高超高200 m后,位移随坡高的变化幅度不大,顺层岩体边坡的位移随坡角增加而单调增大。随岩层倾角增加边坡位移明显增大;当岩层倾角大于层面内摩擦角时,随着岩层倾角的增大,边坡变形增长幅度明显增大。     

四川九寨沟Ms7.0级地震滑坡应急快速评估

基于地震滑坡危险性评估的Newmark累积位移模型,利用震前获取的震区地形数据、区域地质资料,结合地震动近实时获取技术,开展了四川九寨沟M_s7.0级地震诱发滑坡的应急快速评估。地震滑坡位移分析结果表明,同震滑坡活动的中—高强度区分布在断层两侧宽约4 km的带状区域内,整体沿北西方向延伸。其中,极震区的丰雪塘、日则和干海子等城镇驻地及附近道路的滑坡强度相对较高;震前、震后影像对比表明九寨沟地震诱发的滑坡类型以浅表型碎屑流及小规模崩塌为主,且同震碎屑流多是在震前已有碎屑流的基础上进一步活动扩展而来,震后汛期泥石流隐患也不容忽视;通过典型地区滑坡位移分析结果与震前、震后影像对比,表明滑坡位移分析结果能够较好的反映同震滑坡的宏观分布特征,但在场地尺度上吻合程度欠佳,后续将通过提升岩性和地形等数据质量进行改进。研究结果可为灾情研判提供宝贵信息,对提高灾害应急救援效率具有重要意义。     

Chronology of glaciations in the Sierra Nevada,California, from 10Be surface exposure dating

We use ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating to construct a high-resolution chronology of glacial fluctuations in the Sierra Nevada, California. Most previous studies focused on individual glaciated valleys, whereas our study compares chronologies developed throughout the range to identify regional patterns in the timing of glacier response to major climate changes. Sites throughout the range indicate Last Glacial Maximum retreat at 18.8 ± 1.9 ka (2σ) that suggests rather consistent changes in atmospheric variables, e.g., temperature and precipitation, throughout the range. The penultimate glacial retreat occurred at ca 145 ka. Our data suggest that the Sierra Nevada landscape is dominated by glacial features deposited during marine isotope stage (MIS) 2 and MIS 6. Deposits of previously recognized glaciations between circa 25 and 140 ka, e.g., MIS 4, Tenaya, early Tahoe, cannot be unequivocally identified. The timing of Sierra Nevada glacial retreat correlates well with other regional paleoclimate proxies in the Sierra Nevada, but differs significantly from paleoclimate proxies in other regions. Our dating results indicate that the onset of LGM retreat occurred several thousand years earlier in the Sierra Nevada than some glacial records in the western US.     

The Laalam (Algeria) damaging landslide triggered by a moderate earthquake (M<Subscript>w</Subscript> = 5.2)

On March 20th, 2006, a moderate earthquake (M_w = 5.2) struck the Laalam (NE-Algeria). The damage was centred in the Laalam village where four deaths, 68 injured and more than 40 housing units destroyed making dozens of peoples homeless. Damage and casualties are directly related to an earthquake-induced landslide occurred at 10 km far from the epicenter (ISC relocation). The landslide rupture, mapped by using a ground based survey, is striking NE-SW along a 1-km length rupture with a 45 cm of lateral displacement. The rupture plan is dipping 40° at the surface and showing horizontal striations. A 75 cm of pre-2006 lateral displacement is also observed indicating a repetitive behaviour of the landslide. The last time where the landslide was activated extends back to 1974 following another moderate earthquake. This landslide reminds us the high level hazard of induced ground failures due slope instabilities in mountainous zones of seismically active areas.     

基于Newmark模型的概率地震滑坡危险性模型参数优化与应用: 以鲁甸地震区为例

应用概率地震危险性评价模型进行地震滑坡危险性区划,是解决潜在地震诱发滑坡危险性评价中震源不确定性与诱发滑坡时空不确定性的有效方法.通过理论分析,结合鲁甸地震区的实际情况,对基于力学原理的Newmark滑块位移模型与概率地震滑坡危险性分析方法中的参数的不确定性问题进行了分析,将斜坡岩土体地震作用下的强度衰减效应、地震加速度地形放大效应、断层破碎带效应融合到了斜坡累积位移计算模型中,进行了模型计算参数的优化.改进后的分析模型,更好地反映了高陡斜坡地形与断层破碎带对地震滑坡灾害发育的控制作用,在鲁甸地震区域滑坡应用中,优化模型中的滑坡失稳极高风险区与实际地震滑坡分布表现出了较好的一致性,在超越概率2%的滑坡失稳概率分布中,鲁甸地区包谷垴—小河断裂、鲁甸—昭通断裂带及牛栏江河谷地带地震滑坡高—极高风险区分布面积增幅十分显著.因此,在Newmark滑块位移模型中考虑地震动参数与岩土参数动态响应规律与变量间的定量关系,对于提高区域斜坡稳定性分析的可靠性具有重要意义.      

小坡度海底土层地震液化诱发滑移分析方法

地震可使海底砂质、粉质土层液化并导致上部土层的滑移。基于有效应力有限元动力分析方法和Newmark刚性滑块理论,提出了一种计算海底小坡度（≤5o）土层地震液化引起侧向滑移的简化方法。该方法将波浪荷载简化为海底恒定的上覆压力和初始孔压,忽略了海水粘性对海底土层地震反应的影响,利用改进的Seed孔压模型进行动力分析和液化判别,用Newmark滑块理论计算了土层侧向滑移。通过算例和对比分析,研究了海水深度和土层坡度对侧向滑移的影响,表明该方法的有效性,可为近海工程场地地震地质灾害评价提供参考数据。     

Rock avalanches and other landslides in the central Southern Alps of New Zealand: a regional study considering possible climate change impacts

Slope instabilities in the central Southern Alps, New Zealand, are assessed in relation to their geological and topographic distribution, with emphasis given to the spatial distribution of the most recent failures relative to zones of possible permafrost degradation and glacial recession. Five hundred nine mostly late-Pleistocene- to Holocene-aged landslides have been identified, affecting 2% of the study area. Rock avalanches were distinguished in the dataset, being the dominant failure type from Alpine slopes about and east of the Main Divide of the Alps, while other landslide types occur more frequently at lower elevations and from schist slopes closer to the Alpine Fault. The pre-1950 landslide record is incomplete, but mapped failures have prevailed from slopes facing west–northwest, suggesting a structural control on slope failure distribution. Twenty rock avalanches and large rockfalls are known to have fallen since 1950, predominating from extremely steep east–southeast facing slopes, mostly from the hanging wall of the Main Divide Fault Zone. Nineteen occurred within 300 vertical metres above or below glacial ice; 13 have source areas within 300 vertical metres of the estimated lower permafrost boundary, where degrading permafrost is expected. The prevalence of recent failures occurring from glacier-proximal slopes and from slopes near the lower permafrost limit is demonstrably higher than from other slopes about the Main Divide. Many recent failures have been smaller than those recorded pre-1950, and the influence of warming may be ephemeral and difficult to demonstrate relative to simultaneous effects of weather, erosion, seismicity, and uplift along an active plate margin.     

Seismically induced landslide displacements: a predictive model

Newmark's model for predicting earthquake-induced landslide displacements provides a simple way to predict the coseismic displacements affecting a sliding mass subject to earthquake loading. In this model, seismic slope stability is measured in terms of critical acceleration, which depends on the mechanical soil properties, pore-pressure distribution, and slope geometry. The triggering seismic forces are investigated in terms of energy radiation from the source, propagation, and site effects, based on 190 accelerometric recordings from 17 Italian earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.5 and 6.8. The method is based on the calibration of relations having the general form of an attenuation law that relates the energy of the seismic forces to the dynamic shear resistances of the sliding mass to propagate the expected landslide displacements as an inverse function of the distance from the fault rupture; the amount of displacement computed through these relations provides a criterion to predict the occurrence of slope failures. Finally, maps showing, in a deterministic and a probabilistic way, the potential of seismically induced landslide displacements are displayed as a tool to provide seismic landslide scenarios and earthquake-induced landslide hazard maps, respectively.     

The Wenchuan Earthquake (May 12, 2008), Sichuan Province,China, and resulting geohazards

On Monday, May 12, 2008, a devastating mega-earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck the Wenchuan area, northwestern Sichuan Province, China. The focal mechanism of the earthquake was successive massive rock fracturing 15 km in depth at Yingxiu. Seismic analysis confirms that the major shock occurred on the Beichuan–Yingxiu Fault and that aftershocks rapidly extended in a straight northeast–southeast direction along the Longmenshan Fault zone. Fatalities approaching a total of 15,000 occurred, with a significant number resulting from four types of seismically triggered geohazards—rock avalanches and landslides, landslide-dammed lakes (“earthquake lakes”), and debris flows. China Geological Survey has identified 4,970 potentially risky sites, 1,701 landslides, 1,844 rock avalanches, 515 debris flows, and 1,093 unstable slopes. Rock avalanches and landslides caused many fatalities directly and disrupted the transportation system, extensively disrupting rescue efforts and thereby causing additional fatalities. Landslide-dammed lakes not only flooded human habitats in upstream areas but also posed threats to potentially inundated downstream areas with large populations. Debris flows become the most remarkable geohazards featured by increasing number, high frequency, and low triggering rainfall. Earthquake-triggered geohazards sequentially induced and transformed to additional hazards. For example, debris flows occurred on rock avalanches and landslides, followed by landslide-dammed lakes, and then by additional debris flows and breakouts of the landslide-dammed lakes and downstream flooding. Earthquake-induced geohazards occurred mainly along the fault zone and decreased sharply with distance from the fault. It can be anticipated that post-earthquake geohazards, particularly for debris flows, will continue for 5–10 years and even for as long as 20 years. An integrated strategy of continuing emergency response and economic reconstruction is required. The lesson from Wenchuan Earthquake is that the resulted geohazards may appear in large number in active fault regions. A plan for geohazard prevention in the earthquake-active mountainous areas is needed in advance.     

Regression analysis for seismic slope instability based on a double phase viscoplastic sliding model of the rigid block

Semi-empirical models based on Newmark’s sliding block permit the estimation of expected co-seismic displacements in relation to one or more parameters which characterize the ground motion that theoretically caused them. Taking this into consideration, a regression analysis, based on a double-phase viscoplastic (DPV) model, was developed using 96 Italian ground motion accelerograms for a total of 1,448 combinations obtained for different parametric conditions of the indefinite slope model. Repeated stability analysis, performed by means of the DPV model, allows for the assessment of the seismic instability of a slope in relation to different reached behaviour levels, as well as seismically induced permanent displacements. At these behaviour levels, co-seismic increases and possible subsequent decreases of viscoplastic shear strengths are associated. This implies that the post-seismic persistent mobility (collapse) of the slope can be obtained from the computation. On the other hand, coherently with the increasing of shear resistances during fast sliding displacements in clay soils, the seismic-forced displacements result substantially lower than corresponding values obtained by means of the rigorous Newmark’s sliding block. In addition, in relation to some seismic ground motion parameters, regression and functional border and separation curves were obtained with the aim of providing an expeditious seismic slope stability evaluation in reference to the co-seismic and post-seismic behaviour of clayey slopes. Regarding this, the real behaviour of two historical landslide events is discussed in the light of the results of the regression analysis outlined in this work.     

Earthquake effects on the Anatolian Motorway, Turkey

On 12 November 1999, the Anatolian earthquake in Turkey damaged a partially completed motorway viaduct. The viaduct, which is some 2.3 km long, passes over the Düzce Fault as the route starts its ascent into the Turkish plateau. The Düzce Fault is a northern offshoot of the main North Anatolian Fault (NAF) Zone, and cuts the viaduct at an acute angle of 15 degrees. Movements along the NAF have been identified as the prime cause of the earthquake. Alternatives to a viaduct crossing had been considered in the feasibility stage, but were ruled out because of the rugged landslide-influenced terrain and requirements for an even motorway ascent grade. The relative displacement of around 120 equally spaced piers identified the nature of the ground displacements and gave an indication as to the likely areas of foundation damage. This article examines the damage caused to the viaduct during the earthquake.     

Recent extreme slope failures in glacial environments: effects of thermal perturbation

This paper describes recent exceptional slope failures in high-mountain, glacial environments: the 2002 Kolka–Karmadon rock–ice avalanche in the Caucasus, a series of ice–rock avalanches on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska, the 2005 Mt. Steller rock–ice avalanche in Alaska, and ice and rock avalanches at Monte Rosa, Italy in 2005 and 2007. Deposit volumes range from 10⁶ to 10⁸ m³ and include rock, ice and snow. Here we focus on thermal aspects of these failures reflecting the involvement of glacier ice and permafrost at all sites, suggesting that thermal perturbations likely contributed to the slope failures. We use surface and troposphere air temperatures, near-surface rock temperatures, satellite thermal data, and recent 2D and 3D thermal modeling studies to document thermal conditions at the landslide sites. We distinguish between thermal perturbations of volcanic-geothermal and climatic origin, and thermal perturbations related to glacier–permafrost interaction. The data and analysis support the view that recent, current and future climatic change increases the likelihood of large slope failures in steep glacierized and permafrost terrain. However, some important aspects of these settings such as the geology and tectonic environment remain poorly understood, making the identification of future sites of large slope instabilities difficult. In view of the potentially large natural disasters that can be caused by such slope failures, improved data and understanding are needed.     

The Cascade rock avalanche: implications of a very large Alpine Fault-triggered failure,New Zealand

Catastrophic deep-seated rock slope failures (RSFs; e.g., rock avalanches) can be particularly useful proxies for fault rupture and strong ground motion, and currently represent an underappreciated hazard of earthquakes in New Zealand. This study presents observations of the previously undescribed Cascade rock avalanche (CRA), a c. 0.75 km³ single-event, long-runout, catastrophic failure interpreted to have been coseismically triggered by a large to great earthquake c. 660 AD on the Alpine Fault. Despite its size and remarkable preservation, the CRA deposit has been previously identified as a terminal moraine and fault-damaged outcrop, highlighting the common misinterpretation of similar rock avalanche deposits. Comparisons are drawn between the CRA and other Alpine Fault-attributed rock avalanches, such as the better-studied c. 860 AD Round Top rock avalanche, to re-assess coseismic rock avalanche hazard. Structural relationships indicate the rock mass comprising the CRA may have formerly been a portion of a larger (c. 3 km³) RSF, before its catastrophic collapse on a deep-seated gravitational collapse structure (sackung). Sackungen and RSFs are common throughout the Southern Alps and other mountainous regions worldwide; in many cases, they should be considered potential precursors to catastrophic failure events. Two masses of rock in the Cascade River Valley show precursory signs of potential catastrophic failures of up to c. 2 km³; a similar mass may threaten the town of Franz Josef.     

Rock fall hazard along the railway corridor to Jerusalem,Israel, in the Soreq and Refaim valleys

We evaluate rock fall hazard along the railway corridor to Jerusalem, Israel, in the Soreq and Refaim valleys. For the purpose, we use a combination of historical information on past rock fall events, field surveys aided by the interpretation of aerial photographs, and numerical rock fall modeling. Historical information indicates that on July 11, 1927 an m _L 6.2 Dead-Sea transform earthquake caused rock falls in the studied area. The seismically induced rock falls damaged the railway tracks. Field observations revealed that the source area for the 1927 failures was located in the Aminadav formation, at the contact with the Moza formation. At the stratigraphic contact, rock blocks 10⁰–10¹ m³ in size are formed as a result of tensile stresses and associated fracturing in the dolomite of the Aminadav formation, combined with continuous creep of the blocks on the marl of the underlying Moza formation. We use topographical, geological, and geomorphological information to calibrate a three-dimensional numerical simulation of rock falls in the studied area. We use the results of the numerical modeling, and additional independent information, to assess rock fall hazard and the associated risk in the Soreq and Refaim valleys. Results indicate that in the studied area, rock fall risk to the railway line to Jerusalem is due primarily to Dead-Sea transform earthquakes, with m _L  > 6. We identify nine sections of the railway line where rock fall risk exists, for a total length of 2.5 km. We further note that seismically induced rock falls can produce damage to the road network in the studied area, make it difficult or impossible for earthquake casualties to reach hospitals in Jerusalem. We conclude offering recommendations on how to mitigate the risk posed by earthquake-induced rock falls in the studied area.     

汶川地震极重灾区地质背景及次生斜坡灾害空间发育规律

512汶川大地震造成大量的次生斜坡灾害,本次研究区域为汶川大地震的11个重灾区,包括汶川、北川、青川、安县、平武、茂县、江油、彭州、什邡、绵竹、理县等市县。通过对重灾区航片、卫片、雷达图像的解译研究发现,重灾区次生斜坡灾害的主要灾种表现为崩塌、滑坡以及崩塌、滑坡高速运动解体形成的碎屑流（个别地方由于水的参与表现为泥石流）以及它们堵江形成的堰塞湖。研究发现地震次生斜坡灾害的发育具有明显的丛集性规律。从区域上看,次生斜坡灾害明显呈带状,沿龙门山断裂带展布,并主要受北川映秀断裂控制。各灾种的发育在不同地段发育的规模、频率差别较大。以灾害分布面积来排序,汶川县灾害面积最大,为131.55km2,其次为北川县,为45.57km2,其余9个县（市）灾害面积相差不大,均介于6~17km2,其中理县灾害面积最小,为6.25km2。各灾种的发育在不同地段发育的规模、频率差别较大。青川县、平武县灾种主要为滑坡,汶川县、茂县、安县、理县灾种主要表现崩塌转化的碎屑流,北川的主要灾种则为碎屑流,其次为滑坡,什邡、彭州、绵竹、江油等地主要灾种为崩塌。 灾种发育的这种地域性差别主要受控于地层岩性,除此而外,还与构造特征、地形地貌等因素紧密相关。研究表明:岩性对灾害种类的展布有决定性控制作用。统计发现,岩性越坚硬,崩塌、碎屑流发育率越高,滑坡则在软岩地区、较软岩地区和较坚硬区发育率最高,泥石流则在软岩地区最为发育。地形地貌对次生斜坡灾害的发育有重要影响,统计表明,崩塌、碎屑流以及泥石流在1200～2000m坡段范围内发育率最高,其次为800～1200m坡段;而滑坡则在800～1200m坡段范围发育率最高。对坡度而言,除11~20坡度范围外,崩塌和碎屑流的发育率总体具有随坡度增高而增大的特点;而滑坡和泥石流的发育率呈现典型的单峰特征,在1~20范围内发育率最大。坡向对地震次生斜坡灾害的发育影响不明显。 地震次生斜坡灾害的发育规律表明,地震斜坡灾害的发生主要受控于活动构造本身,并沿活动构造呈带状展布,同时受场地条件如岩性、地形地貌等因素的强烈控制。     

Transtensional deformation in the Lake Tahoe region, California and Nevada, USA

Dextral transtensional deformation is occurring along the Sierra Nevada–Great Basin boundary zone (SNGBBZ) at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada microplate. In the Lake Tahoe region of the SNGBBZ, transtension is partitioned spatially and temporally into domains of north–south striking normal faults and transitional domains with conjugate strike-slip faults. The normal fault domains, which have had large Holocene earthquakes but account only for background seismicity in the historic period, primarily accommodate east–west extension, while the transitional domains, which have had moderate Holocene and historic earthquakes and are currently seismically active, primarily record north–south shortening. Through partitioned slip, the upper crust in this region undergoes overall constrictional strain.Major fault zones within the Lake Tahoe basin include two normal fault zones: the northwest-trending Tahoe–Sierra frontal fault zone (TSFFZ) and the north-trending West Tahoe–Dollar Point fault zone. Most faults in these zones show eastside down displacements. Both of these fault zones show evidence of Holocene earthquakes but are relatively quiet seismically through the historic record. The northeast-trending North Tahoe–Incline Village fault zone is a major normal to sinistral-oblique fault zone. This fault zone shows evidence for large Holocene earthquakes and based on the historic record is seismically active at the microearthquake level. The zone forms the boundary between the Lake Tahoe normal fault domain to the south and the Truckee transition zone to the north.Several lines of evidence, including both geology and historic seismicity, indicate that the seismically active Truckee and Gardnerville transition zones, north and southeast of Lake Tahoe basin, respectively, are undergoing north–south shortening. In addition, the central Carson Range, a major north-trending range block between two large normal fault zones, shows internal fault patterns that suggest the range is undergoing north–south shortening in addition to east–west extension.A model capable of explaining the spatial and temporal partitioning of slip suggests that seismic behavior in the region alternates between two modes, one mode characterized by an east–west minimum principal stress and a north–south maximum principal stress as at present. In this mode, seismicity and small-scale faulting reflecting north–south shortening concentrate in mechanically weak transition zones with primarily strike-slip faulting in relatively small-magnitude events, and domains with major normal faults are relatively quiet. A second mode occurs after sufficient north–south shortening reduces the north–south S_hmax in magnitude until it is less than S_v, at which point S_v becomes the maximum principal stress. This second mode is then characterized by large earthquakes on major normal faults in the large normal fault domains, which dominate the overall moment release in the region, producing significant east–west extension.     

Performance-based assessment of earthquake-induced catastrophic landslide hazard in liquefiable soils

This paper outlines a methodology for evaluating the likelihood of catastrophic landslide occurrence on gentle slopes in liquefiable soils during earthquake. The approach is based on a modified Newmark sliding block model of assessing the earthquake-induced undrained landslide displacements for conditions of no shear stress reversals on the sliding surface. By employing the shear resistance-displacement relationship from undrained monotonic ring shear tests, the simulation model incorporates the sensitivity of computed displacements to variations in yield acceleration. The proposed approach involves an examination of undrained seismic slope performance under various horizontal seismic waveforms scaled to different specific values of the peak earthquake acceleration. An example problem illustrates how the proposed methodology may be used to demarcate, based on the magnitude of permanent seismic displacement, the levels of low, moderate and high risk of catastrophic landslide on a gentle slope in a saturated cohesionless soil susceptible to liquefaction during earthquake.     

Empirical-based seismically induced slope displacements in a geographic information system environment: a case study

Landslides are one of the most damaging and threatening hazards associated with seismically induced slope movements. Estimations of support conditions for slope displacements are important for taking preventive measures to avoid landslide events in future. California's Division of Mines and Geology (DMG) procedure is utilised in the present paper for estimating the slope failure mechanism under seismic conditions. In this study, the DMG procedure has been explained and has also been incorporated in a Geographic Information System (GIS) using Arc-GIS software from Environmental Systems Research Institute. Further, it is utilised for establishing a seismically induced slope displacement map for the Skien municipality area of Telemark County in Norway. The motivation for selecting this site was the availability of geotechnical parameters for the site. Three different displacement maps have been produced for earthquake scenarios of magnitude 5, 6 and 7, respectively. The maximum displacement of 133 cm is estimated for earthquake scenario of magnitude 7. It is noticed that the sensitive areas for slope failure remain the same under different earthquake scenarios. A displacement tool based on the DMG procedure has been created in the Arc-tool box in Arc-GIS software. This tool minimises the efforts for inserting formulas for making raster displacement maps. By using the displacement tool one can generate final products like displacement maps automatically at high accuracy and in quick time. The prepared slope displacement maps of study area are used for landslide susceptibility zonation (LSZ) map preparation. The LSZ maps are useful for landslide hazard assessment and further can be utilised by planners, civil engineers and local administrators for town planning and policy-making.