A Panoramic View of the Landslides Triggered by the May 12th, 2008 Mw 7.9 Earthquake in Wenchuan, China

This paper reviews studies of the landslides triggered by the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake as a panoramic view of a vast number of slope failures. It examines (1) descriptions of the disastrous coseismic bedrock landslides, (2) the coseismic landslide database, (3) landslide influence factors and the spatial distribution pattern, (4) spatial landslide susceptibility mapping, and (5) effects of earthquake-triggered landslides on landscape evolution. The Wenchuan earthquake triggered massive large-scale bedrock landslides, which resulted in serious casualties and property damage. At least 197 481 landslides were identified, being distributed within an elliptic area of approximately 110 000 km2. Their total area and volume were approximately 1160 km2 and 6–10 km3. They constitute the largest landslide database related to an individual earthquake ever recorded worldwide. Many factors might have affected these slope failures, such as topography, geology, strong ground motion, and surface deformation related to earthquake magnitude and the properties of the seismogenic faults. Associated with this, areas with the following features are more susceptible to landslides: high slope angles; close proximity to the Yingxiu–Beichuan surface fault rupture; hanging wall of the reverse fault; east-, southeast-, and southward slope aspects; peak ground accelerations larger than 0.2 g; sandstone, siltstone, or granitic underlying rocks; and IX–XI intensity levels. A significant number of methods for earthquake-triggered landslide assessments have been used, including the Newmark method, statistical methods, and combinations of both. The resultant assessment maps provide useful information for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected area. In addition, some researchers have studied the relationships between coseismic landslides and crustal uplift, landscape evolution in the affected area, and the long-term effect of earthquake-triggered landslides on the environment, which will be helpful for promoting the advancement of research on this subject.