An open-accessed inventory of landslides triggered by the MS 6.8 Luding earthquake, China on September 5, 2022

Abstract

This study constructs a preliminary inventory of landslides triggered by the M_S 6.8 Luding earthquake based on field investigation and human-computer interaction visual interpretation on optical satellite images. The results show that this earthquake triggered at least 5 007 landslides, with a total landslide area of 17.36 ​km², of which the smallest landslide area is 65 ​m² and the largest landslide area reaches 120 747 ​m², with an average landslide area of about 3 500 ​m². The obtained landslides are concentrated in the IX intensity zone and the northeast side of the seismogenic fault, and the area density and point density of landslides are 13.8%, and 35.73 ​km⁻² peaks with 2 ​km as the search radius. It should be noted that the number of landslides obtained in this paper will be lower than the actual situation because some areas are covered by clouds and there are no available post-earthquake remote sensing images. Based on the available post-earthquake remote sensing images, the number of landslides triggered by this earthquake is roughly estimated to be up to 10 000. This study can be used to support further research on the distribution pattern and risk evaluation of the coseismic landslides in the region, and the prevention and control of landslide hazards in the seismic area.