Catastrophic landslides associated with the M8.0 Wenchuan earthquake

摘要: Numerous earthquake-induced landslides occurred in the Longmenshan tectonic belt associated with 12th May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake where vertical acceleration was greater than horizontal ground motion. Many of these originated steep mountain terrain which amplified effect shaking. Three typical are discussed: Niujuangou sturzstrom, Chengxi rock slide and 1,100 million m3 Daguangbao slide. Having discussed individual slides some previously published models, a mechanism to explain both very fast velocity their long run-out distance is proposed, taking into account aerodynamic principles. The model postulates that air trapped steep-sided valley by collapsing mass forms “cushion-effect” on debris moves.