Climate Variability & Establishment of Rainfall Threshold Line for Landslide Hazards in Rangamati, Bangladesh

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the impact of extreme rainfall events on landslides under current and past climate scenarios. Rainfall-triggered landslides are analyzed by rainfall estimates, derived using statistics of events. It is established that recent climate changes, mainly temperature and rainfall patterns have significantly increased the rainfall-induced landslide hazards in the Rangamati district, Bangladesh. It is also observed that the temperature and rainfall of Rangamati had increased gradually during the last 40 years (1981-2021). On 13 June 2017, a series of landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains (300 mm/24 h) occurred and killed more than 112 people in the Rangamati hill district, Bangladesh. The highest annual decade rainfall is 3816 mm, recorded in 2010-21. A relationship between causalities and the number of events has also been established. The analysis shows that both antecedent and single-day major rainfall patterns can influence sliding events. It is established that monsoonal rainfall (June-September) can significantly influence catastrophic landslide hazard events. Finally, two rainfall threshold lines for the researched area are constructed based on antecedent and single-day major rainfall occurrences, as well as the number of fatalities caused by landslides. Total rainfall of 100 mm (16.66 mm/day) during six days appears to define the minimum rainfall that has led to shallow landslides/slope failures, while 210 mm (35 mm/day) within six days appears to define the lowest rainfall that could be a cause of catastrophic landslide in Rangamati district.