Article: The 1786 earthquake-triggered landslide dam and subsequent dam-break flood on the Dadu River, southwestern China

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TitleThe 1786 earthquake-triggered landslide dam and subsequent dam-break flood on the Dadu River, southwestern China
AuthorsDai, FC1 2
Lee, CF1
Deng, JH3
Tham, LG1
KeywordsBreach
Discharge
Earthquake
Flood
Landslide dam
Issue Date2005
PublisherElsevier BV. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/geomorph
CitationGeomorphology, 2005, v. 65 n. 3-4, p. 205-221 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.08.011
AbstractChinese historic documents recorded that on June 1, 1786, a strong M=7.75 earthquake occurred in the Kangding-Luding area, Sichuan, southwestern China, resulting in a large landslide that fell into the Dadu River. As a result, a landslide dam blocked the river. Ten days later, the sudden breaching of the dam resulted in catastrophic downstream flooding. Historic records document over 100,000 deaths by the flood. This may be the most disastrous event ever caused by landslide dam failures in the world. Although a lot of work has been carried out to determine the location, magnitude and intensity of the 1786 earthquake, relatively little is known about the occurrence and nature of the landslide dam. In this paper, the dam was reconstructed using historic documents and geomorphic evidence. It was found that the landslide dam was about 70 m high, and it created a lake with a water volume of about 50 × 106 m3 and an area of about 1.7 km2. The landslide dam breached suddenly due to a major aftershock on June 10, 1786. The peak discharge at the dam breach was estimated using regression equations and a physically based predictive equation. The possibility of a future failure of the landslide seems high, particularly due to inherent seismic risk, and detailed geotechnical investigations are strongly recommended for evaluating the current stability of the landslide. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
ISSN0169-555X
2011 Impact Factor: 2.52
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.096
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.08.011
ISI Accession Number IDWOS:000227347600003
ReferencesReferences in Scopus
DC Field
Value
dc.contributor.authorDai, FC
dc.contributor.authorLee, CF
dc.contributor.authorDeng, JH
dc.contributor.authorTham, LG
dc.date.accessioned2010-09-06T06:34:12Z
dc.date.available2010-09-06T06:34:12Z
dc.date.issued2005
dc.description.abstractChinese historic documents recorded that on June 1, 1786, a strong M=7.75 earthquake occurred in the Kangding-Luding area, Sichuan, southwestern China, resulting in a large landslide that fell into the Dadu River. As a result, a landslide dam blocked the river. Ten days later, the sudden breaching of the dam resulted in catastrophic downstream flooding. Historic records document over 100,000 deaths by the flood. This may be the most disastrous event ever caused by landslide dam failures in the world. Although a lot of work has been carried out to determine the location, magnitude and intensity of the 1786 earthquake, relatively little is known about the occurrence and nature of the landslide dam. In this paper, the dam was reconstructed using historic documents and geomorphic evidence. It was found that the landslide dam was about 70 m high, and it created a lake with a water volume of about 50 × 106 m3 and an area of about 1.7 km2. The landslide dam breached suddenly due to a major aftershock on June 10, 1786. The peak discharge at the dam breach was estimated using regression equations and a physically based predictive equation. The possibility of a future failure of the landslide seems high, particularly due to inherent seismic risk, and detailed geotechnical investigations are strongly recommended for evaluating the current stability of the landslide. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
dc.description.natureLink_to_subscribed_fulltext
dc.identifier.citationGeomorphology, 2005, v. 65 n. 3-4, p. 205-221 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.08.011
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.08.011
dc.identifier.epage221
dc.identifier.hkuros102281
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000227347600003
dc.identifier.issn0169-555X
2011 Impact Factor: 2.52
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.096
dc.identifier.issue3-4
dc.identifier.openurl
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-12944291014
dc.identifier.spage205
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/71681
dc.identifier.volume65
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherElsevier BV. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/geomorph
dc.publisher.placeNetherlands
dc.relation.ispartofGeomorphology
dc.relation.referencesReferences in Scopus
dc.rightsGeomorphology. Copyright © Elsevier BV.
dc.subjectBreach
dc.subjectDischarge
dc.subjectEarthquake
dc.subjectFlood
dc.subjectLandslide dam
dc.titleThe 1786 earthquake-triggered landslide dam and subsequent dam-break flood on the Dadu River, southwestern China
dc.typeArticle
Author Affiliations
  1. The University of Hong Kong
  2. Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences
  3. Chinese Academy of Sciences