Mass Movement Hazards

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November 24, 2020

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Natural disasters are a sort of event which, due to the occurrence of certain natural

events, causes enormous damage and these events occur unexpectedly, typically without any

warning. These incidents make individuals conscious and cautious of nature and prepared to face

some kind of sudden natural calamity (McPhee, 1999).

2006 Southern Leyte Mudslide

On February 17, 2006, an enormous rockslide-debris landslide happened in the

Philippines' province, Southern Leyte, producing significant destruction and casualty. The

catastrophic landslide (magnitude of 2.6) was followed by a ten-day duration of massive rainfall

and earthquake of minor levels. Approximately over 1,100 individuals were reported dead. In a

mixed rockslide-debris mass movement incidence, a cliffside of a mountain connecting the

Philippine Fault crashed, translocating, and ultimately destroying Guinsaugon village.

Furthermore, Roger Mercado (the congressman of the Philippine) stated that the major culprit

was logging, and mining carried out thirty years ago in the area. Dave Petley (professor at the

International Landslide Centre of Durham University) said to the BBC that if proven right, the

reasons mentioned by Mercado produced a “dangerous combination” that generated a “classic

landslide scenario” (Suwa, 2006). In addition, anecdotally, local authority representatives and

observers indicated that the region was properly forested, and the governor's office informed that

the causal factor was not mining and forestry deforestation, even though no scientific proof was

given to support the statements. On top of that, the governor's office was unable to understand

during the time of the slide, after decades of stability, why the soil was so soft. Studies concluded

that torrential rains were the tipping point that caused the disaster two weeks prior to the

mudslide. However, the effects of this remain unknown (Suwa, 2006).

Sadly, on February 17 in Guinsaugon, on the southern part of Leyte Island in the eastern

Philippines, approximately 1,800 Filipinos were killed in a disastrous landslide. The horrifying

images of the loss of people and infrastructure that occurred from this catastrophe retell us of the

recent wreckage caused by hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes in New Orleans, the

Caribbean, and Asia. The flood caused destruction worth several million pesos to crops, animals,

and fisheries. The landslides in the mid of February caused massive rainfall and major

destruction to houses, businesses, and crops. Key services like Fish for Every Household was

lost in some areas, several roads were impassable, and electricity was shut down.

2010 Gansu Mudslide

The 2010 Gansu mudslide was a fatal mudslide in Zhouqu County, Gansu Province,

China, which happened on the 8th of August 2010 at nighttime. The floods were generated after

years of clear-cut logging operations had decreased the capability of the watershed to withstand

massive rainwater. It was the deadliest human tragedy of 2010 in China. As of 21 August 2010,

over 1,471 people were killed by the mudslides, with 1,243 others rescued and 294 still absent

(Branigan, 2010). The absent people were believed extinct as the government representatives

instructed people to stop looking for individuals or corpses to avoid the spread of sickness.

Approximately over 1,600 evacuated individuals remained in classrooms.

Unfortunately, as of noon, Aug. 10, the death toll in the mudslides increased to over 700,

with over 1,000 people still absent. The newspaper reported that 1,243 individuals were taken

from the rubbles and ruins, while 20,000 individuals were evacuated from western China's

disaster zone. Landslides also washed mud and other debris into the river, stopping it upstream

from the village. Water filled up at the back of the interim dam, forming a 3 km long pond that

spread out and brought water, mud, and rocks crashing down on the affected area. The constant
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stream destroyed homes and ripped them in half. A resident said that the 5th floor of his building

was underwater at a point. They had a small hydroelectric power plant, which was destroyed due

to this disaster (Branigan, 2010). Zhugqu County was the hardest-hit spot, where mud destroyed

homes and tore them into pieces. During the massive rainfall, water was abundant behind a dam

of rubble blocking a small river north of the city of Zhugqu; when the dam burst, more than

1,700,000 cubic meters of mud and rocks flooded throughout the city, covering more than 320

low-rise houses and completely destroying as a minimum one village, in a surge estimated to be

up to five stories high. The mudslide left an area five kilometers long and 310 meters wide,

leveled on average by 5 meters (16 ft) of mud (Branigan, 2010).

Apart from that, the forest region of Zhugqu was contracted by thirty percent and the

reserve of timber decreased by twenty-five percent due to over felling. The mud in the river

water has risen by sixty percent and the volume of water has decreased by eight percent leading

to enlarged overflowing and famine. Additionally, in this region, there were almost 54

hydrocarbons. This accumulated to generate more than748,999 tons of water and soil erosion and

more than 2,999,999m3 of bulldozed material. Also, it was determined that these ventures had

formed the entire region into a dangerous disaster zone. Eventually, the mudslide was

responsible for a “perfect storm” of natural catastrophes, involving “soft” “weathered” soil,

extreme flooding and famine, and the Sichuan earthquake two years ago. Nonetheless,

authorities denied suggestions that the mudslides were ‘man-made’.

70 Nevado Huascaran Debris Fall, Yungay, Peru, May 1970

The Huascarán debris avalanche of 1970 happened on May 31, 1970, when a debris

avalanche and mudflow generated by the Ancash earthquake devastated the Peruvian town of

Yungay and 10 srrounding villages, causing more than 17,999 individuals dead. It is the worst
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avalanche or glacier-related disaster in history, and the 3rd or 4th deadliest landslide-related

disaster of the twentieth century (BBC, 2020). Besides that, the amount of deaths from the 1970

avalanche has been tough to determine; thousands of missing bodies have never been found

because of the absolute size of the wrecked region and the degree to which the areas were

destroyed. Subsequently, because of the tragedy that occurred on Sunday, which is a market day,

when many individuals came in from the rural area, the casualties in Yungay rose drastically.

Most estimates vary from about 14,999 to 17,999 dead in Yungay and the nearby villages, even

though some sources report fatalities of as many as 21,999 to 24,999 (BBC, 2020). Almost 410

individuals survived in Yungay proper, 310 of whom were kids attending a circus at the local

stadium; a clown reportedly led them to higher ground just in time prior to the mudflow hit.

Moving on, almost 94 individuals survived by climbing an elevated hill at the town

cemetery. These were the only structures in the region left untouched, along with a statue of

Jesus Christ with his arms outstretched, standing high above the rubble, which currently stands

as a memorial to the dead. A photo of 4 palm trees that once surrounded Yungay's main plaza,

partly submerged but still standing in the mudflow, became a symbol of the catastrophe. The

debris covered a total region of 1,510 hectares and reached depths of up to 22 meters in the

Ranrahirca area; the flood in the areas was as large as 4.35 kilometers. Yungay town was buried

under approximately five meters of rubble. All the rubble that originally buried the area was

washed away just a few days after the catastrophe, leaving a field of larger rocks that remains

still in almost the same situation.

Finally, geological study specifies that Yungay itself was possibly constructed on a flow

or landslide deposit. In Quechua, the name of the surrounding village of Ranrahirca implies a

“pile of thrown stones” meaning that debris avalanches have been found in the valley since
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prehistoric times. These deadly rivers of snow, ice, mud, and rock are locally referred to as

huaycos. One of the most vulnerable ice-covered regions in the “Glacier 511” Cordillera which

is Blanca one of the most fragile ice-covered regions in the Cordillera Blanca. The head of the

very steep Quebrada Armapampa ravine floods the glacier, which eventually flows into Río

Llanguanuco. At an average pitch of more than 22 degrees (in some regions exceeding 69

degrees), the land slopes underneath the snout of Glacier 511, with a gross vertical drop of more

than 2,999 m before meeting the valleys below that are more gently sloped, providing optimal

conditions for any large sliding mass of rock to pass at high speed unimpeded.
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References

McPhee, J. (1999). The control of nature. G.K. Hall.

Suwa, H. (2006). Causes of the 17 February 2006 Southern Leyte Landslide. AGU Fall Meeting

Abstracts.

Branigan, T. (2010, August 9). China mudslide deaths likely to rise. The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/09/china-gansu-mudslide-flood-deaths.

BBC. (2020, May 30). In pictures: Peru's most catastrophic natural disaster. BBC News.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52839770.