Using Physical Model Experiments for Hazards Assessment of Rainfall-Induced Debris Landslides

Using physical simulation models, rainfall-induced landslides have been simulated under various rainfall intensities. During these simulations, we have monitored the physical and mechanical behaviors of the landslide over the slip surface at different heights of the model slopes, as well as taking the whole slope to identify its deformation and failure processes. The results show that the rainfall duration corresponding to the initiation of the debris landslide and is exponentially related to rainfall intensity. Corresponding to the three intervals of the rainfall intensity, there are three types of slope failure modes: (1) the small-slump failure at the leading edge of the slope; (2) the block-slump failure but sometimes there are large blocks sliding down; and (3) the bulk failure but sometimes there is the block-slump failure. Based on the total rainfall-lasting time and the associated proportion of failed mass volume, the early warning of debris landslide can be classified into five grades, i.e., red, orange to red, orange, yellow to orange and yellow, which correspond to the five slope failure modes, respectively.