On the prediction of the reach and velocity of catastrophic landslides

Abstract

An analysis of the data of rapid, catastrophic landslides shows that a correlation exists between the logarithm of the volume V of such landslides and the logarithm of the coefficient of frictionf which governs their course. This correlation is $${}_{10}\log f = - 0.15666 {}_{10}\log V + 0.62419$$ where the volume is in m3. The coefficient of correlation is 0.82. This correlation can be used to predict the reach and the velocity of an imminent landslide, if the volume can be estimated beforehand.