The Mudui deep-seated debris slide in Sichuan Province, China: Failure mechanism, kinematics, and effects of remedial works based on multidisciplinary data

Abstract

Rainfall has been recognized as a key factor in triggering landslides. However, it is not entirely clear why many landslides have been triggered by slight-to-moderate rainfall. The Mudui landslide that occurred in Sichuan Province, China, on June 22, 2020, exemplifies the evolution of landslides induced by seasonal rainfall, which can cause substantial damage to infrastructure. This landslide was a deep-seated debris slide with a volume of approximately 0.64 million m³. It occurred in colluvial deposits, which are heterogeneous soil–rock mixtures with high permeability that easily retain water. On the basis of detailed site investigations and various monitoring data—including interferometric synthetic-aperture radar (InSAR), ground-slope and subsurface-slope deformation monitoring, and hydrogeological monitoring—we investigated the landslide-triggering mechanism along with pre- and post-landslide kinematics and assessed the effects of remedial works. The results show that both the soil water content and the slope deformations have significant seasonal characteristics. The soil water content decreases during dry seasons and increases during rainy seasons. Correspondingly, the deformation rates increase with the onset of rainy seasons and decrease with the onset of dry seasons. The landslide area underwent progressive deformations linked to groundwater seepage, inducing a continuous deterioration of the soil body. Finally, prolonged rainfall triggered the landslide of the deteriorated soil mass. The results indicate that the adverse effects of long-term seasonal soil-water-content fluctuations need to be take into account in analyzing slope instabilities in colluvial deposits.