Name: Md Samsujjoha Nissan

ID: 20183290343

Subject: Slope Engineering

1. Slope disasters in my country, in China and in the world.

In my country (Bangladesh):-
Location: Chittagong, BANGLADESH
Cause: Landslide due to heavy rain.
Start date: June 11, 2007
Total number of deaths: 124

Due to heavy rainfall resulted in a landslide in Chittagong district in Bangladesh on Monday, 11 June
2007, killing 124 people so far and destroying houses, roads and embankments, as well as disrupting
electricity, gas lines and communication facilities. According to the Bangladesh weather office, rainfall
measured on 11 June (until 9 pm) was 408 mm, the heaviest in 25 years. A number of areas were under
water as a result of incessant rainfall over the four days prior to the date of reporting. On 11 June, it was
reported that 41 wards (consisting of 1.5 million people) were waterlogged. On Tuesday, 12 June, the
number of people in the waterlogged areas decreased to 500,000, as the water level receded. Some of
the major rivers are still flowing above the danger level and many river embankments in different parts
of the country have been seriously damaged. People have been forced to take shelter in army
cantonment areas and shelters built by the government. The maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar
and Mongla hoisted cautionary signal No-3, as advised by the government’s meteorological department.
Four reasons were identified for the landslide: indiscriminate cutting of hill forest cover for setting up
slum dwellings, abnormal rise in the level of high tide, high tide combined with concurrent heavy
rainfall, and the poor drainage system. The search and rescue operation by the Bangladesh army, police
and the fire service and civil defence department is ongoing. United Nations agencies are also active and
the World Food Programme and United Nations Children’s Fund have jointly started an assessment in
Chittagong. Action Aid Bangladesh is working with the fire service and civil defence department in
search and rescue, food and medical support for 1,800 families in Kumira in Chittagong district, and has
provided the support of rescue equipment to the fire service and civil defence department. The NGOs
‘Islamic Relief, Bangladesh’ and a local NGO ‘Unite Theatre for Social Action’ are also responding to the
situation. Community people, teachers and students from Chittagong University are participating in the
rescue operations.

So far, the government has allocated 1.3
million Taka and 200,000 kilograms of rice
for the relief operation in Chittagong. The
local administration is distributing
clothing items for men and women, as
well as dry food items to the affected
people, while the army is providing
clothing, oral rehydration salts, rice,
cooked food, biscuits and other dry food
in some affected areas of Chittagong,
together with medical support to the
injured. The United Nations Development
Programme will transfer money
equivalent of US$ 20,000 to a government
fund, to complement its response effort.
Reports from local Bangladesh Red
Crescent Society (BDRCS) units and media
sources state that moderate to severe
flooding also took place (on 12 and 13
June) in other parts of Chittagong district,
as well as in other districts of the country
including Cox’s Bazar, Comilla, Netokona,
Sunamganj, Feni, Borguna, Hobiganj,
Moulibazar, Joypurhat, Bogra, Naogaon,
Kurigram, Chandpur, Shariatpur and Rangpur. The press reported a landslide, following flash floods, in
Bandar ban district, which left two people dead. This was confirmed by the local BDRCS unit in that area.

Slope disasters in China:-

Location: Qianjiangping landslide in Zigui, Hubei province

Cause: Water flow influenced the stability of slope foot
Start date: July 13, 2003
Total number of deaths: 24 People died, 19 were injured

The Three Gorges Project (TGP) in China is the largest hydropower project in the world. The
Qianjiangping landslide is the first large-scale rock slide in Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) Area, China,
after the impoundment of the TGR. The first-stage impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR)
started on June 1, 2003. After the reservoir water level rose to 135 m on June 10, 2003, many bank
slopes began to deform and some landslides happened. The Qianjiangping landslide occurred on July 13,
2003, is the first large-scale rock slide after the first-stage impoundment of the TGR. The landslide is
located in Shazhenxi Town, Zigui County, Hubei Province, on the left bank of the Qinggan River, a branch
of the Yangtze River. It is about 4 km away from the estuary of Qinggan River and about 50 km away
from the Three Gorges Dam. The highest wave generated by the landslide was 39 m. The catastrophic
landslide with a volume of 15 million m3 took 14 people’s lives away directly, destroyed 4 factories, 346
houses, and 70 ha of farmland, and made 1200 people homeless. The direct economic loss caused by
the landslide was about $7 million at that time.

Previous studies on the slope showed

that most researchers agreed that
reservoir impoundment and rainfall were
the two main triggering factors of the
slope failure. However, there were
different views about the influence
degrees of the two factors on the slope
failure. In order to clarify the influence
degrees of each of three conditions
(reservoir impoundment, rainfall, and
combined effect of reservoir
impoundment and rainfall) on the failure
of the Qianjiangping slope and reveal the
failure mechanism of the slope, underground water tables and stresses in the slope were calculated
under the three conditions, respectively, based on fluid-solid coupling theory using the Abaqus software
in this paper; then, the failure approach index (FAI) was adopted to analyze the failure characteristics of
the slope under each of the three conditions. Research results show that the influence degree of rainfall
is greater than that of reservoir
impoundment on the slope failure, and
the influence degree of the combined
effect of reservoir impoundment and
rainfall is greater than that of rainfall; the
sliding surface runs through only in the
condition of the combined effect of
reservoir impoundment and rainfall. Study
results suggest that with the reservoir
water level rising, the toe of the slope was
gradually submerged in reservoir water
and the strength of rock mass submerged
by reservoir water decreased due to
water-rock interaction; furthermore, the
heavy rainfall was rapidly injected into the slope through the interlayer staggered zone and slope
surface, the groundwater table in the middle part of the slope rose rapidly, the sliding force of the slope
increased, and the stress concentration appeared at the lower part of the slope; finally, the rock bridges
submerged by reservoir water in the front of the slope fractured, and the failure of the slope occurred.

About the influence of reservoir impoundment and rainfall on the Qianjiangping landslide, many
researches were performed by scholars around the world with the methods of field investigation,
geological analysis, numerical simulation, model test, and so on. Although a great deal of research has
been done, there are still three different perspectives: (1) the occurrence of the landslide was the result
of the combined effect of reservoir impoundment and rainfall, (2) the influence of reservoir
impoundment on the slope stability was greater than that of rainfall, and (3) the influence of rainfall on
the slope stability was greater than that of reservoir impoundment. The root of the different above-
mentioned viewpoints is that the scholars do not effectively distinguish and quantize the influence
degrees of reservoir impoundment and rainfall on the slope failure. In order to study clearly the
different contributions of reservoir impoundment and rainfall to the failure of the Qianjiangping slope
and reveal the failure mechanism of the slope, a numerical simulation based on fluid-solid coupling
theory was carried out and the groundwater tables and stress fields of the slope under the three
conditions (reservoir impoundment, rainfall, and combined effect of reservoir impoundment and
rainfall) were obtained; the failure approach index (FAI) was adopted to analyze the influence degrees of
each of the three conditions on the slope failure in this paper.

Based on the numerical simulation results and discussion mentioned above, some conclusions can be
drawn as follows:

(1)The groundwater table in the lower part of the slope rises with the increase in the reservoir water
level. Under the condition of heavy rainfall, the groundwater table in the middle-lower part of the slope
rises rapidly. After each heavy rainfall, the groundwater will rapidly discharge to the reservoir, and the
groundwater table drops nearly to the reservoir water level.

(2)The FAI distributions demonstrate that the reservoir impoundment changes the stress state in the
low part of the slope much more than in the middle-upper part of the slope, and rainfall greatly
increases the sliding force of the slope. Both reservoir impoundment and rainfall increase the risk of
slope failure.

(3)The influence degree of rainfall on the stability of the Qianjiangping slope is greater than that of the
reservoir impoundment, but neither of the reservoir impoundment and rainfall can trigger the failure of
the Qianjiangping slope alone.

(4)The Qianjiangping landslide is caused by the combined effect of reservoir impoundment and rainfall.
The strength of the rock bridges in the gently dipping discontinuous structural plane was weakened by
the reservoir water due to water-rock interaction, which decreases the antisliding force of the slope. The
rainfall increased the sliding force of the rock mass above the interlayer staggered zone of the slope,
which led to obvious stress concentration at the lower part of the slope. Finally, the rock bridges around
the gently dipping discontinuous structural plane fractured, and the slope slid.

Slope disasters in India:-

Location: Kedarnath, Uttarakhand, India

Cause: Water flow influenced the stability of slope foot
Date: 16 June 2013
Total number of deaths: 24 People died, 19 were injured

The State of Uttarakhand, being part of the Himalayan region, is extremely vulnerable to natural
disasters. Natural hazards, like earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, cloudbursts, hailstorms, Glacial Lake
Outburst Floods (GLOFs), flash floods, lightning, and forest fires, etc. have been a cause of major
disasters in the State.
On 16 June 2013, the State suffered yet another mega disaster, one of the worst disasters in the living
memory, causing widespread damage and destruction, besides heavy casualties.
The disaster essentially occurred due to wide spread heavy rains during the period 14-18 June, which
resulted in flash floods in all the major river vallies in the State. Heavy rains triggered major landslide at
numerous locations causing severe disruption in surface communications. Extreme rainfall is not an
uncommon phenomenon in the region. The historical record (figure 1) suggests that extreme
precipitation in one or the other districts of Uttarakhand is quite frequent. The heavy rainfall in the
region was the result of convergence of the southwest monsoon trough and westerly disturbances
(Figure 2), which led to the formation of dense clouds over the Uttarakhand Himalaya (Figure 3).

Figure 1: Historical record of extreme precipitation in Uttarakhand

Figure 2: Map showing fusion of Westerlies and Monsoon clouds in June 2013

Figure 3: The Indian Meteorological Department image (17th June 2013) suggested heavy rainfall on
the higher reaches of Uttarakhand, Himachal and Nepal Himalaya

As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the rainfall in the State between 15 June and 18
June 2013 was measured at 385.1 mm, against the normal rainfall of 71.3 mm, which was in excess by
440%. The cumulative rainfall from June 14-18 for all the IMD stations located in Uttarakhand is shown.
Thus, it can be inferred that the disaster was the result of extra precipitation in a very short duration of
time, which resulted in heavy water discharge in various rivers and streams.

The worst impact of the disaster on human settlements was in the Kedarnath shrine area (Gaurikund to
Kedarnath), the Mandakini valley, the Alaknanda valley (at Gobindghat and upstream), the Pindar valley,
and along the banks of the river Kali in Dharchula area. The Kedarnath area in particular was impacted
the most as it suffered unprecedented devastation with very heavy loss of life and property. Kedarnath
Dham Township is located at an altitude of 3583m on the banks of the river Mandakini, which originates
from the Chaurabari glacier - about 4 kilometers upstream. It is connected by a motor able road from
Rudraprayag up to Gaurikund (40 kms) and thereafter through a mule track (14 kms), running along the
Mandakini river (Figure 5).

Figure 4: Station-wise accumulated rainfall from 14th to 18th June 2013

Figure 5: Track leading to Kedarnath along the Kedarnath area, Mandakini River.

A satellite view of the Kedarnath area, showing the Chorabari Lake, drainage system and the township is
given at Figure 6. The river Mandakini joins river Alaknanda at Rudraprayag.

Figure 6: Satellite view of Kedarnath showing drainage system, glaciers, lake and township.
The likely causes for the disaster in the area of Kedarnath have been a subject of several assessments.
As per the Geological Survey of India (GSI), heavy rainfall, which was about 375 per cent more than the
benchmark rainfall during normal monsoon, caused the melting of Chorabari Glacier at the height of
3800 meters. This resulted into eruption of the Mandakini River causing heavy floods in the Rudraprayag
district and adjacent areas. It was also observed that the heavy rains between 15 and 17 June resulted in
exceptionally high rise in the river discharges. The rise in the river level was of the order of 5 - 7m,
where the valley was wide and 10 – 12m where the valley was narrow. In the upper stretches of the
Mandakini River the stream gradient is high and valley profile is mostly narrow. The gush of water
running down from Kedarnath and Rambara areas brought mammoth sediment load which consisted of
huge rock boulders with diameter ranging from 3 - 10m. The heavy sediment load along with big
boulders acted as a tool of destruction and obliterated everything that came in its way. The enormous
volume of water also induced toe erosion along all the river valleys, which in turn, triggered landslides at
a number of places.

In the overall context, the prolonged torrential rainfall was probably the main cause of the disaster in
Uttarakhand. The loss of human life in the districts of Uttarakashi, Bageshwar, Chamoli and Pithoragarh
was relatively less as compared to the Kedarnath valley. As per the eye witnesses and technical inputs
received from various agencies, the possible causes of the disaster could be summarized as:-

1. Collision of western disturbances with monsoon easterlies.

2. Excessive precipitation in very short span of time.

3. Heavy erosion and the accumulation of large volume of water and sediment accumulation in major
river beds due to excessive rainfall.

4. Run - off of loose debris, moraine and boulders with excessive force washing off all that came in its
way.

The disaster caused heavy loss of precious lives and extensive damage to private properties and public
infrastructure. More than nine million people were affected by the flash floods. The five districts
namely, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi were the worst affected.
Kedarnath before the flood Kedarnath after the flood India Disaster Report 2013 18 Out of total missing
persons, 846 people were from the State of Uttarakhand and 3,175 from the other states. The highest
number of people reported missing were largely from Uttar Pradesh followed by Uttarakhand and
Madhya Pradesh, accounting for more than half of the total number of people reported missing. The
impact of disaster was most pronounced in the Mandakini valley of the Rudraprayag district. Torrential
rains, coupled with the probable collapse of the Chorabari Lake, led to flooding at the Kedarnath Shrine
and the adjacent areas of Rambara, Agastyamuni, Tilwara, and Guptkashi. Other pilgrimage centers in
the region, including Gangotri, Yamunotri and Badrinath, which are visited by thousands of devotees
during the summer season, were also affected. People in important locations, such as the Harsil,
Roopkund and Hemkund Sahib, were stranded for days together. Over one lakh people were stuck in
various regions of the State due to damaged roads, landslides and flash flood-induced debris. As per the
latest report made available by the State Government on 09 May 2014, a total of 169 people died and
4021 people were reported missing (presumed to be dead).

 2. Examples of slope protection and treatment methods.

There are a lots of techniques all over the world. Some of are based on situation, weather etc. The most

commonly used slope protection and treatment methods are categorized as follows:

1. Slope Stabilization Methods and Classification

1. Geometric techniques: The application of geometric techniques brings about a change in the

geometry of slope.

2. Hydrological techniques: The adoption of hydrological techniques lowers the water content of

soil/rock material by reducing the groundwater table.

3. Chemical and mechanical techniques: Chemical and mechanical stabilization techniques

increase the shear strength of the critical plane of soil/rock mass by external means. In

addition, the shear strength of the slope can also be increased by minimizing the external

forces triggering the slope failure.

1.1 Geometrical Techniques

Slope stabilization using geometrical techniques can be achieved by:

• Flattening the slope

• Eliminating part of the soil/rock
• Eliminating load from the top of the slope and therefore reducing the shear stresses on critical
planes
• Constructing pressure berms at the toe of the slope and thereby providing extra safety against
toppling failure
• Replacement of slipped material by free-draining materials and therefore reducing the build-up
of pore water pressure
• By re-compaction of slip debris to provide more resistance against loading

1.2 Hydrological Techniques

Slope stabilization using hydrological techniques can be achieved by:

 • Installing surface and subsurface drain pipes and therefore reducing pore water pressure
• Use of inverted filters
• Use of thermal techniques, such as ground freezing and heating methods

1.3 Chemical and Mechanical Techniques

Slope stabilization using chemical and mechanical techniques can be achieved by:

• Using grouting to increase the shear resistance of slope

• Constructing restraining structures, such as concrete gravity or cantilever walls
• Construction of gabion structures, baby crib walls, and embankment piles in order to provide
resistance against toppling
• Constructing lime and cement columns
• Installing ground anchors, rock bolts, root piles, etc. to provide effective tension to rock blocks
• By planting shrubs and grasses to reduce soil erosion

2. Construction Techniques of Slope Protection

Slope stabilization techniques are categorized into three groups:

1. Reinforcement support: It includes rock bolts, dowels, tied-back walls, shotcrete, buttresses,

etc.

2. Unstable Rock removal: It involves methods like re-sloping, cutting, etc.

3. Protection: This comprises the construction of ditches, mesh, catch fences, warning fences, rock

sheds, tunnels, etc.

2.1 Rock Reinforcement Support

Rock reinforcement support involves the application of external elements to strengthen the rock to

avoid failure.

2.1.1 Rock bolts and Anchors

The most beneficial supports are rock bolts and anchors as they protect blocks of rock from sliding away

from the discontinuity planes.

The installation mechanism of rock

bolts and anchors governs their

effective compression capacity. The

most effective way to install rock

bolt is by fixing them perpendicular

to the joints so that the joint

discontinuities are easily trapped In

the case of fractured rock slope,

rock bolts and anchors are used in

combination with concrete walls to

cover the locations of fractured

rock. Rock bolts installed to improve

the stability of slope

2.1.2 Steel Rods

Steel rods, also known as dowels bars, are installed and grouted into the rock mass to act as

reinforcement.

The difference between rock bolts and steel rods lies in their installation methods as rock bolts are

stressed during the installation, whereas steel rods are not.

2.1.3 Shotcrete

Fine aggregates and mortar are the main constituents of shotcrete. Generally, shotcrete is applied

pneumatically and placed in a layer of 50 to 100 mm. The application of a layer of shotcrete to the rock

face can protect the zones or beds of closely-fractured rock. Besides, shotcrete also prevents small

blocks of rock from falling. Thus the process of progressive failure of producing large, unstable

overhangs on the face reduces. Although its primary function is surface protection, shotcrete also
provides some support against sliding of the overall slope. Shotcrete improves the tensile and shear

strength of slopes, thereby reducing the chances of slope failure.

3. Stabilization Strategies to Reduce Slope Failure

The objective behind slope stabilization is to reduce the risk of slope failure to enhance public safety.

Some standard stabilization techniques used in practice to improve public safety are mentioned below:

1. Flattening of overburden slope

2. Cutting of unstable rock blocks
3. Scaling of loose materials/blocks
4. Providing drain pipes and drain holes
5. Use of dowel bars
6. Installing rock anchor to avoid moving along discontinuity joints
7. Use of rock bolts to enhance the jointed rock mass
8. Constructing concrete or masonry walls with weep-holes
9. Constructing rock trap ditches at the toe of the slopes
 10. Providing rock catch fences/walls along the slope to make the surrounding locations safe for
public usage
11. Providing hanging chains or webs to slow down toppling of blocks
12. Providing free-hanging mesh net to direct loose rock pieces to fall only near the slope toe
13. Constructing berms/benches as a rockfall collector
14. Providing mesh secured by bolts and gunited to protect friable formation
15. Constructing rockfall barriers (gabions and concrete block, reinforced soil barriers, etc.) at the
toe of slopes
16. Building and constructing rock sheds and tunnels
17. Providing caution signals in rockfall locations

THANK YOU