Systematic documentation of landslide events in Limbe area (Mt Cameroon Volcano, SW Cameroon): geometry, controlling, and triggering factors

V. Che (), M. Kervyn, G. Ernst, P. Trefois, S. Ayonghe, P. Jacobs, E. Ranst and C. Suh

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2011, vol. 59, issue 1, 47-74

Abstract: Limbe town and surrounding areas, on the SE foot slopes of the active Mt Cameroon Volcano, have experienced numerous small-scale shallow landslides within the last 20 years. These resulted in the loss of ~30 lives and significant damage to farmland and properties. Landslides and their scars are identified in the field, and their geometry systematically measured to construct a landslide inventory map for the study area. Specific landslides are investigated in detail to identify site-specific controlling and triggering factors. This is to constrain key input parameters and their variability for subsequent susceptibility and risk modeling, for immediate local and regional applications in land-use planning. It will also enable a rapid exploration of remediation strategies that are currently lacking in the SW and NW regions of Cameroon. Typical slides within the study area are small-scale, shallow, translational earth, and debris slides though some rotational earth slides were also documented. The depletion zones have mean widths of 22 m ± 16.7 m and lengths of 25 ± 23 standard deviation. Estimated aerial extents of landslide scars and volume of generated debris range from 10 1 to 10 4 m 2 and 2 to 5 × 10 4 m 3 , respectively. A key finding is that most slope instabilities within the study area are associated with and appear to be exacerbated by man-made factors such as excavation, anarchical construction, and deforestation of steep slopes. High intensity rainfall notably during localized storms is the principal triggering factor identified so far. The findings from this case study have relevance to understanding some key aspects of locally devastating slope instabilities that commonly occur on intensely weathered steep terrains across subtropical Africa and in the subtropics worldwide and affecting an ever denser and most vulnerable population. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Keywords: Cameroon; Landslide; Scar geometry; Sliding mechanism; Causal and triggering factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1007/s11069-011-9738-3

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