Spatial distribution of landslides induced by the 2004 Mid-Niigata prefecture earthquake,Japan

On October 23, 2004, an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.8 occurred in the Chuetsu area of Niigata prefecture in Japan. This earthquake is known as the 2004 Mid-Niigata prefecture earthquake; the event was followed by severe aftershocks and caused many types of landslides such as surficial slides, shallow slides, and deep slides. A large number of landslides occurred in the upland village of Yamakoshi, destroying the entire village; in addition, a huge number of houses collapsed in Kawaguchi town. This study investigates the correlations between each type of landslide and the bedding plane orientation and dip, and other geomorphologic conditions. The landslide occurrence ratio (LOR) is used as an index to determine the correlation between the 2004 Mid-Niigata prefecture earthquake-induced landslides and the slope angle, slope aspect, rock type, and bedding plane orientation and dip. This work also proposes a methodology to determine the geometric alignment between the topography and the orientation of geological bedding planes. The method provides an efficient means of estimating the topography/bedding plane relationship over large areas.     

Rainstorm-induced landslides at Kisawa village, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, August 2004

Heavy rain fell on the Shikoku area during Typhoon Namtheun, setting a new record for daily rainfall in Japan of 1317 mm. The rain which peaked at 120 mm/h, triggered numerous landslides in the Nakagawa basin of Tokushima Prefecture, Japan on August 1, 2004. Among them, four large, rapid, long-runout landslides were triggered at Kisawa village. Two people were caught in one landslide and disappeared without trace, and there was much property damage. Ring-shear tests on samples from the landslides showed that shear resistance was greatly reduced by high pore-water pressure after shear failure was triggered by the increase in ground-water level during the rain.     

A complex earth slide–earth flow induction by the heavy rainfall in July 2006, Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

A seasonal rain front (Baiu front) accompanied a long-term accumulation of precipitation propagated over the wide areas of the main island of Japan during 15–24 July 2006. In Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture, several flow-type landslides occurred in the early morning of 19 July 2006, claiming eight lives. Among these landslides, a most peculiar complex earth slide–earth flow occurred on a north gentle slope of the upstream portion of the Motosawagawa River. In the source area, volcanoclastic soils overlying tuffaceous rocks at about 4-m depth slid due to the prolonged precipitation that raised the water table level in the soil. Along with the travel path, the failed materials fluidized causing the liquefaction of the volcanoclastic soils underlain by volcanic black ash soils. The resulting flow spread over a wide area up to the final deposition. Constant volume box-shear tests on undisturbed volcanoclastic soil specimens taken from the source area showed effective normal stress tended to decrease during shearing. The ring shear tests on saturated disturbed specimens produced the large loss of shear resistance, which may explain the fluidized motion of the complex landslide.     

Large-scale landslides in Toyama Prefecture,central Japan,and their probable relationship with earthquakes

Large-scale landslides along the Kubusu and Besso rivers in Toyama Prefecture are developed in the Miocene Iwaine Formation, which is composed of andesitic lava, tuff, and tuff breccia. In the middle member of this formation, the tuff is easily altered to montmorillonite-bearing rock, and subsequently plays an important role in the development of landslides events, which tend to be large-scale events, as the massive lava of the upper member forms a cap rock over the tuff. The Kiritani and Koinami basins, which are flat intermontane basins located along the Kubusu and Besso rivers, respectively, are interpreted as landslide-dammed lakes, later filled with sediment. Accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C ages show that the landslides forming each dam occurred simultaneously, at approximately 2500 BP. These ages were measured from wood fragments embedded in the landslide material of Kiritani, and from an in situ stump drowned during the impoundment of Koinami. If the trigger of these landslides was an earthquake, it is most likely to have been the penultimate event along the Atotsugawa fault zone.     

The large aftershocks triggered by the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake,Japan

The Mw 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake that occurred off the Pacific coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, was followed by thousands of aftershocks, both near the plate interface and in the crust of inland eastern Japan. In this paper, we report on two large, shallow crustal earthquakes that occurred near the Ibaraki-Fukushima prefecture border, where the background seismicity was low prior to the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. Using densely spaced geodetic observations (GPS and InSAR datasets), we found that two large aftershocks in the Iwaki and Kita-Ibarake regions (hereafter referred to as the Iwaki earthquake and the Kita-Ibarake earthquake) produced 2.1 m and 0.44 m of motion in the line-of-sight (LOS), respectively. The azimuth-offset method was used to obtain the preliminary location of the fault traces. The InSAR-based maximum offset and trace of the faults that produced the Iwaki earthquake are consistent with field observations. The fault location and geometry of these two earthquakes are constrained by a rectangular dislocation model in a multilayered elastic half-space, which indicates that the maximum slips for the two earthquakes are 3.28 m and 0.98 m, respectively. The Coulomb stress changes were calculated for the faults following the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake based on the modeled slip along the fault planes. The resulting Coulomb stress changes indicate that the stresses on the faults increased by up to 1.1 MPa and 0.7 MPa in the Iwaki and Kita-Ibarake regions, respectively, suggesting that the Tohoku-Oki earthquake triggered the two aftershocks, supporting the results of seismic tomography.     

Analysis of a spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the 2004 Chuetsu earthquakes of Niigata Prefecture, Japan

On October 23, 2004, a series of powerful earthquakes with a maximum M _w = 6.6 located near the western coast of northern Honshu struck parts of northern Japan, particularly Niigata Prefecture; these earthquakes were known as the Chuetsu event. Thousands of landslides, as a secondary geotechnical hazard associated with these earthquakes, were triggered over a broad area; these landslides were of almost all types. The purpose of this study was to detect correlations between landslide occurrence with geologic and geomorphologic conditions, slope geometry, and earthquake parameters using two indexes based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In the study area, the landslide–area ratio (LAR), which is defined as the percentage of the area affected by landslides, was 2.9%, and the landslide concentration (LC), the number of landslides per square kilometer, was 4.4 landslides/km², which is much more than other reported cases of seismic activity with the same magnitude. This was possibly due to heavy rainfall just before the Chuetsu earthquakes. Statistical analyses show that LAR has a positive correlation with slope steepness and distance from the epicenter, while LC is inversely correlated with distance from the epicenter. The Wanazu Formation had the most concentrated landslide activity, followed by the Kawaguchi, Ushigakubi, Shiroiwa and Oyama Formations, although the Wanazu Formation occupied only 4.5% of the total area of geological units. With 8.2% of the area affected by seismic landslides, the Kawaguchi Formation had the highest LAR. It was followed by the Shiroiwa, Ushigakubi and Wanazu Formations with LAR ranging from 4.6% to 6.0%. For lots of geological subunits, landslides are more frequent in a range of slope angles between 15° and 40°. The susceptibility to landsliding of each geologic unit was thus evaluated to correlate with slope steepness. It was also noted that the effects of the earthquakes were made far worse by antecedent rainfall conditions induced by a␣typhoon, and further research emphasizing the role of antecedent rainfall was discussed.     

Geological and geomorphological characteristics of landslides triggered by the 2004 Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake in Japan

The 2004 Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake (M_JMA 6.8) triggered more than one thousand landslides in the Miocene to Quaternary sedimentary rocks in Japan. The most common landslides were shallow disrupted landslides on steep slopes, which has been common in many previous disastrous earthquakes in the world. The Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake also triggered more than one hundred deep landslides, providing valuable information on the conditions for their occurrence. A field investigation and the interpretation of aerial photographs taken before and after the earthquake suggest that reactivation of existing landslides and undercutting of slopes are the most important factors for deep landslides to be triggered by earthquakes. In addition, planar sliding surfaces seem to be essential for the generation of catastrophic landslides triggered by this earthquake. Planar bedding–parallel sliding surfaces were formed at the boundary between the overlying permeable sandstone and underlying siltstone or along the bedding planes of alternating beds of sandstone and siltstone. Sliding surfaces along the slope-parallel oxidation front were formed in the area of black mudstone. New landslides (rockslide-avalanches) occurred with the sliding surfaces in a several-cm thick tuff interbedded in siltstone. One rockslide-avalanche occurred on a slope where buckling deformation preceded the earthquake. Gentle valley bottom sediments were mobilized in many locations, probably because they were saturated and partial liquefaction had occurred due to the earthquake shaking.     

汶川地震崩滑灾害影响因素分析

为研究汶川地震崩滑灾害主要影响因素,在掌握汶川地震灾区公路沿线地震崩滑灾害资料基础上,选取典型段进行灾害统计分析,研究表明动力条件下斜坡失稳主要受斜坡岩体结构特征、地震动峰值加速度和斜坡动力响应特征三方面因素影响。地震动峰值加速度越高,地震崩滑灾害越发育。斜坡动力响应特征主要取决于地形地貌和地层岩性,陡坡硬岩段为地震崩滑灾害高发区。斜坡岩体结构是控制斜坡变形破坏的主要因素,从研究斜坡动力失稳角度,提出了斜坡岩体结构类型的划分,分为土层及强风化层——基岩二元结构、块状结构、层状及似层状结构、碎裂结构、土层等5个大类12个亚类。     

3-D GRACE gravity model for the 2011 Japan earthquake

The GRACE mission has contributed to the seismic characterization of major earthquakes in offshore regions of the world. Here, we isolate satellite gravity signal (μGal range) for the Japan Earthquake of 2011 using a difference method. Contrary to the existing gravity models, we propose a unit vertical pyramid based five-layer 3-D thrust fault model, which extends to the hypocenter and honors the ocean water layer and sea floor upheaval also. Our model partly uses existing seismological information (hypocenter depth of 32 km, rupture length of 300 km and vertical slip of 4 m), provides a snapshot of episodic subduction of the Pacific Plate below the Atlantic Plate and its gravity response closely matches the observed gravity (RMS error of 3.4012×10^?13μGal), fully accounting for co-seismic mass redistribution including sea surface deformation. Our inferred rupture length, rupture velocity, average seismic moment magnitude and momentum, respectively, are 300 km, 4.49 km/s, 1.152×10²¹?1.8816×10²¹ N m and 2.319×10⁶ GNs, which fairly agree with the literature. Further, our model inferred momentum at the sea floor corresponds to an area pulse that led to Tsunami generation.     

Surface displacements in Japan before the 11 March 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake

Daily resolution data retrieved from the 1243 ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) stations in Japan are utilized to expose surface displacements before the destructive M9 Tohoku-Oki earthquake (March 11, 2011). Variations in the residual GPS data, in which effects of the long-term plate movements, short-term noise and frequency-dependent variations have been removed through a band-pass filter via the Hilbert–Huang transform, are compared with parameters of the focal mechanism associated with the Tohoku-Oki earthquake for validation. Analytical results show that the southward movements, which were deduced from the residual displacements and agree with the strike of the rupture fault, became evident on the 65th day before the Tohoku-Oki earthquake. This observation suggests that the shear stress played an important role in the seismic incubation period. The westward movements, which are consistent with the angle of the maximum horizontal compressive stress, covered entire Japan and formed an impeded area (142°E, 42°N) about 75 km away from the epicenter on the 47th day prior to the earthquake. The horizontal displacements integrated with the vertical movements from the residual GPS data are very useful to construct comprehensive images in diagnosing the surface deformation from destructive earthquakes along the subduction zone.     

Spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the 2008 Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake,China

The Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008 is one of the most disastrous earthquakes in China. The earthquake triggered tens of thousands of landslides over a broad area, including shallow, disrupted landslides, rock falls, deep-seated landslides, and rock avalanches, some of which buried large sections of some towns and dammed the rivers. The purpose of this study is to investigate correlations between the occurrence of landslides with geologic and geomorphologic conditions, and seismic parameters. Over 56,000 earthquake-triggered landslides, with a total area of 811 km², are interpreted using aerial photographs and remote sensing images taken following the earthquake. The spatial distribution of these landslides is analyzed statistically using both landslide-point density (LPD), defined as the number of landslides per square kilometer, and landslide-area density (LAD), the percentage of the area affected by landslides, to determine how the occurrence of landslides correlates with distance from the epicenter, distance from the major surface rupture, seismic intensity and peak ground acceleration (PGA), slope angle, slope aspect, elevation, and lithology. It is found that both LAD and LPD have strong positive correlations with slope steepness, distance from the major surface rupture and seismic intensity, and that Pre-Sinian schist, and Cambrian sandstone and siltstone intercalated with slate have the most concentrated landslide activities, followed by the Permian limestone intercalated with shale, and Devonian limestone. Statistical analyses also indicate that the major surface rupture has influence on the spatial distribution of landslides, because LAD and LPD are relatively higher on the hanging wall than on the footwall. However, the correlation between the occurrence of landslides with distance from the epicenter of the earthquake is complicated, rather than a relatively simple negative correlation as found from other reported cases of earthquakes. This is possibly due to complicated rupture processes of the earthquake.     

Paleoseismological evidence for non-characteristic behavior of surface rupture associated with the 2004 Mid-Niigata Prefecture earthquake, central Japan

The 2004 Mid-Niigata Prefecture earthquake sequence (mainshock magnitude, M_JMA 6.8), which occurred in an active fold-and-thrust belt in northern central Japan, generated a small thrust surface rupture (< 20 cm of vertical displacement) along a previously unmapped northern extension of the active Muikamachi–Bonchi–Seien fault zone, on the eastern margin of the epicentral region. To better understand past seismic behavior of the rupture, we conducted a paleoseismic trenching study across the 10-cm-high west-side-up surface rupture at the foot of a pre-existing 1.8-m-high east-facing scarp, which probably resulted from past earthquake(s). A well-defined west-dipping thrust fault zone accompanied by drag folding and displacing the upper Pliocene to lower Pleistocene strata and the unconformably overlying upper Pleistocene (?) to Holocene strata was exposed. The principal fault zone is connected directly to the 2004 surface rupture. From the deformational characteristics of the strata and radiocarbon dating, we inferred that two large paleoseismic events occurred during the past 9000 years prior to the 2004 event. These two pre-2004 events have a nearly identical fault slip (at minimum, 1.5 m), which is ≥ 15 times that of the 2004 event (∼ 10 cm). These paleoseismic data, coupled with the geological and geomorphological features, suggest that the 2004 event represented non-characteristic behavior of the fault, which can potentially generate a more destructive earthquake accompanied by meter-scale surface displacement. This study provides insight into the interpretation of past faulting events and increases our understanding of rupture behavior.     

Measures for groundwater security during and after the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake (1995) and the Great East Japan earthquake (2011), Japan

Many big earthquakes have occurred in the tectonic regions of the world, especially in Japan. Earthquakes often cause damage to crucial life services such as water, gas and electricity supply systems and even the sewage system in urban and rural areas. The most severe problem for people affected by earthquakes is access to water for their drinking/cooking and toilet flushing. Securing safe water for daily life in an earthquake emergency requires the establishment of countermeasures, especially in a mega city like Tokyo. This paper described some examples of groundwater use in earthquake emergencies, with reference to reports, books and newspapers published in Japan. The consensus is that groundwater, as a source of water, plays a major role in earthquake emergencies, especially where the accessibility of wells coincides with the emergency need. It is also important to introduce a registration system for citizen-owned and company wells that can form the basis of a cooperative during a disaster; such a registration system was implemented by many Japanese local governments after the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995 and the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and is one of the most effective countermeasures for groundwater use in an earthquake emergency. Emphasis is also placed the importance of establishing of a continuous monitoring system of groundwater conditions for both quantity and quality during non-emergency periods.     

四川泸定MS6.8级地震诱发崩滑灾害快速评估

强震诱发崩滑灾害可严重加剧地震灾害损失,快速评估地震诱发崩滑分布对于应急救灾工作部署具有重要意义。利用2022年9月5日泸定M_S6.8级地震震前30 m分辨率地形数据结合1∶50万比例尺地质图,采用Newmark累积位移方法开展了泸定地震诱发崩滑灾害快速评估。结果显示：(1)地震诱发崩滑灾害较为严重,崩滑高危险区面积约为45 km²,主要分布在鲜水河断裂以西大渡河西岸近东西向支沟两岸,其中以燕子沟、磨子沟、海螺沟、飞水沟、湾东河、什月河、田湾河等崩滑危险性较高,对沟内居民及游客生命安全威胁较大,沟内公路受崩滑阻断风险较高,局部河道有被崩滑堵塞风险;(2)泸定县冷碛镇、兴隆镇、磨西镇、得妥乡等4个乡镇及石棉县田湾乡、草科乡、新民乡、先锋乡、蟹螺乡、挖角乡等6个乡镇崩滑危险性较高;(3)震中附近地区大渡河沿线省道S434和S211受崩滑阻断可能性较大;(4)贡嘎雪山一带预测地震崩滑危险性为中等,但需关注冰崩型、岩崩型高位远程灾害(链)风险。通过与震后应急排查、遥感解译等获取的地震Ⅷ度、Ⅸ度区内发生的崩滑分布对比,表明在大渡河西岸各支沟滑坡位移分析...     

Impact of the 11 March 2011, Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami on the chemical industry

The Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami damaged or destroyed many industrial facilities housing or processing hazardous substances, such as refineries, petrochemical facilities and other types of chemical industry. This showed that also generally well prepared countries are at risk of suffering natural hazard triggered technological (Natech) accidents. An analysis of data collected from open sources and through interviews with authorities was performed to understand the main reasons for the industrial damage and downtime as well as the extent of hazardous-materials releases and the associated impact on society. The analysis of the data set confirmed the findings from other studies with respect to main damage and failure modes, as well as hazardous-materials release paths. In addition, gaps in Natech risk management were identified. Based on the data analysis and interviews lessons learned in support of a more far-reaching Natech risk management are presented.