Urgent help for landslide research

27 April 2006

Survivors of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan could soon be at risk from landslides during the rainy season.

A team of British experts from the International Landslide Centre (ILC) at Durham University have been given urgent funding by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to travel to the region.

The scientists will set off in May and will be examining the unique set of geological circumstances presented by the legacy of the earthquake - and advising local authorities there on how best to avoid disaster.

The weather in Kashmir is dominated by monsoon rainfall, which is most likely to start in July 2006 - and could last for over two months. It is likely that this rainfall will trigger many landslides on the slopes already destabilised by the 2005 earthquake. Up to 30,000 refugees face the threat of flash floods and landslips from giant lakes that have formed above the remains of their former homes.

Professor David Petley who heads the ILC team says, "This situation seems very dangerous in light of the forthcoming rainy season - the conditions would seem ideal for landslides to place these people in Kashmir in great danger from debris and flooding. We travelled to the site in January 2006 and having assessed the risks, advised urgent action. We hope to assist the authorities by identifying the area least at risk where people can be moved too."

Following this earlier visit by the ILC team, the Pakistani authorities have created a relocation plan for the refugees.

Beyond the immediate risks to people, David Petley says that the Kashmir situation offers a rare chance to investigate the features of landslides - or slope failures, "The Kashmir earthquake has created a unique set of circumstances in which the location and likely timing of large-scale landslides are predictable. We want to use this opportunity by setting up a monitoring system on four of the slopes. Until we further develop this knowledge it will be difficult to forecast where and when landslides will occur in the future, and to provide effective warning systems."

The data gathered will be complemented by rain gauge information at each site, so that the researchers can discover how much rain is associated with the movement events. They will also use a terrestrial laser scanning system to measure the morphology (shape) of the slopes, and conventional methods to understand the geology.

The results will be used to assess existing models of landslide movement. The ILC team hope that their instruments can be used by the Pakistan authorities, to provide a basic warning system of impending landslides.

NERC has previously funded the ILC to visit the site of a major Japanese landslide in 2004. The team to travelled to Japan and collected samples for lab testing; and scanning using lasers. This helped the ILC to create a better understanding of the landslide transition process from static to rapid movement. In Pakistan, the earthquake has left numerous slopes in a condition in which failure is likely during the monsoon and the ILC team will instrument the slopes and measure what happens.

Further information

Prof David Petley
Wilson Professor of Hazard and Risk
International Landslide Centre
Department of Geography
University of Durham
Tel: O191 334 1909

Rebecca Turnbull
University of Durham Press Office
Tel: 0191 334 6075

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Notes

1. Pictures can be seen at the International Landslide Centre's web site.

2. NERC is one of the UK's research councils. It uses a budget of about £350m a year to fund and carry out impartial scientific research in the sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists. It is addressing some of the key questions facing mankind, such as global warming, renewable energy and sustainable economic development.

3. The International Landslide Centre (ILC) was established in the Department of Geography Durham University in 2003 with the following aims:

To undertake fundamental research into landslide problems with a particular emphasis on less developed countries.
To provide direct assistance to communities affected by landslide disasters.
Assist in the development of capabilities to cope with and mitigate against landslides in less developed countries. ILC is currently working on a range of projects in the UK, Nepal, Bhutan, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Pakistan. ILC undertakes projects funded by industry; national and local government agencies; research councils and by international organisations.

Urgent help for landslide research

External links

Press links

Recent press news