Journal of Natural Disaster Science

A METHOD FOR PREDICTING SLOPE FAILURES ON CLIFF AND MOUNTAIN DUE TO HEAVY RAIN

Masanori MICHIUE
Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Tottori University

(Received 17 Nov., 1984 and in revised form 7 May, 1985)

Abstract

A method to predict slope failures on cliffs and mountains and debris flows due to heavy rains in weathered granite areas has been developed. Their occurrence is related closely to the increasing amounts of water in the ground during torrential rains, of which values were computed with the tank model used often in runoff analyses.

In Kure City, slope failures on cliffs covered by the weathered granite took place whenever the total storage height of the water in the soil exceeded 70 mm. The number of collapse events increases with increases in the total amount of storage water in the ground.

The critical condition of water in soil, which causes slope failures on mountains and debris flows was investigated using recorded data.

Key words

slope failure, debris flow, heavy rain