Evaluation of Moisture Level Using Precipitation Indices as a Landslide Triggering Factor—A Study of Coonoor Hill Station
Extreme heavy rainfall events in the hilly region pose a great threat to public safety and causes dangerous landslides in the region. Several factors contribute to a landslide and, hence, it is essential to analyze the causes of such related incidents in all possible ways. Though rainfall is the maj...
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MDPI AG
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Climate |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/7/9/111 |
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| author | C. R. Suribabu Evangelin Ramani Sujatha |
| author_facet | C. R. Suribabu Evangelin Ramani Sujatha |
| author_sort | C. R. Suribabu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Extreme heavy rainfall events in the hilly region pose a great threat to public safety and causes dangerous landslides in the region. Several factors contribute to a landslide and, hence, it is essential to analyze the causes of such related incidents in all possible ways. Though rainfall is the major triggering factor for most of the landslides in the Western Ghats, the long period antecedent moisture level prevailing in the soil of a hilly terrain cannot be ignored. Few of the drought assessing and monitoring indices available in literature can be adopted to predict the degree of wetness from long-term precipitation data of the region. In the present work, three moisture level assessment indices, namely, standardized precipitation index (SPI), China Z-index (CZI), and <i>statistical Z-Score</i> (SZS) index are used to categorize the antecedent moisture level of Coonoor station. Monthly rainfall data for a period of 81 years is used for the study. It is evident from the study that higher level of moisture followed by heavy rainfall triggers medium- to large-scale landslides. Further, from the study it is inferred that an early warning for a landslide can be given once cumulative rainfall exceeds 300 mm during continuous storm periods. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3c3b738db1f2418cac8fb3acdcca6564 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2225-1154 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:12:29Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
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| series | Climate |
| spelling | doaj.art-3c3b738db1f2418cac8fb3acdcca65642022-12-22T03:55:56ZengMDPI AGClimate2225-11542019-09-017911110.3390/cli7090111cli7090111Evaluation of Moisture Level Using Precipitation Indices as a Landslide Triggering Factor—A Study of Coonoor Hill StationC. R. Suribabu0Evangelin Ramani Sujatha1Centre for Advanced Research in Environment, School of Civil Engineering, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613 401, IndiaCentre for Advanced Research in Environment, School of Civil Engineering, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613 401, IndiaExtreme heavy rainfall events in the hilly region pose a great threat to public safety and causes dangerous landslides in the region. Several factors contribute to a landslide and, hence, it is essential to analyze the causes of such related incidents in all possible ways. Though rainfall is the major triggering factor for most of the landslides in the Western Ghats, the long period antecedent moisture level prevailing in the soil of a hilly terrain cannot be ignored. Few of the drought assessing and monitoring indices available in literature can be adopted to predict the degree of wetness from long-term precipitation data of the region. In the present work, three moisture level assessment indices, namely, standardized precipitation index (SPI), China Z-index (CZI), and <i>statistical Z-Score</i> (SZS) index are used to categorize the antecedent moisture level of Coonoor station. Monthly rainfall data for a period of 81 years is used for the study. It is evident from the study that higher level of moisture followed by heavy rainfall triggers medium- to large-scale landslides. Further, from the study it is inferred that an early warning for a landslide can be given once cumulative rainfall exceeds 300 mm during continuous storm periods.https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/7/9/111rainfalllandslidemoisturestandardized precipitation index (SPI)China Z-index<i>statistical Z-score</i> |
| spellingShingle | C. R. Suribabu Evangelin Ramani Sujatha Evaluation of Moisture Level Using Precipitation Indices as a Landslide Triggering Factor—A Study of Coonoor Hill Station Climate rainfall landslide moisture standardized precipitation index (SPI) China Z-index <i>statistical Z-score</i> |
| title | Evaluation of Moisture Level Using Precipitation Indices as a Landslide Triggering Factor—A Study of Coonoor Hill Station |
| title_full | Evaluation of Moisture Level Using Precipitation Indices as a Landslide Triggering Factor—A Study of Coonoor Hill Station |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Moisture Level Using Precipitation Indices as a Landslide Triggering Factor—A Study of Coonoor Hill Station |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Moisture Level Using Precipitation Indices as a Landslide Triggering Factor—A Study of Coonoor Hill Station |
| title_short | Evaluation of Moisture Level Using Precipitation Indices as a Landslide Triggering Factor—A Study of Coonoor Hill Station |
| title_sort | evaluation of moisture level using precipitation indices as a landslide triggering factor a study of coonoor hill station |
| topic | rainfall landslide moisture standardized precipitation index (SPI) China Z-index <i>statistical Z-score</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/7/9/111 |
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