Analysis of the Material Source Conditions for the 7.24 Debris Flow in Luanchuan County
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Analysis of the Material Source Conditions for the 7.24 Debris Flow in Luanchuan County Lian-fen Shao Huanghuai University Zhu Madian 463000, China e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Luanchuan County lies in the mountains of Western Henan Province. With complicated geomorphy and topography, this area is characterized by great gully slope, complex structures, intense human engineering activities and heavy and concentrated rainfall, which have exposed the area to frequent debris flow events. On July 24, 2010, due to a widespread rainstorm, most of the county was attacked by catastrophic debris flow, causing heavy human casualties and property damages. This paper is designed to analyze material sources for the 7.24 debris flow event with a view to providing reference for the post-disaster reconstruction and prevention. Our analysis results indicate that the debris flow sources inside Luanchuan County are concentratedly distributed and fault activities as well as human activities provide abundant material sources for the formation of debris flow; human activities, including cultivation and mining, have an important share of contribution to the increased debris flow sources in the county. On these grounds we also put forward some proposes of how to improve the debris flow source conditions of the county. KEYWORDS: Debris flow; Material sources; Fault structure; Human activities. INTRODUCTION Debris flows are peculiar phenomena in mountainous regions, which often cause serious disasters in a short duration with sudden and fast moving mixtures of large amounts of water and loose material [1-4]. It has been widely recognized that the occurring of debris flows is the result of interactions among many factors related to topography, geology and climate [5-7]. Always, these factors are summarized into three aspects: topography, material and a water source. The main factors related to topography are average slope of the riverbed and slope gradient which determine the energy condition of debris flows. Water sources usually refer to the rainfall which is the trigger factor of debris flows while material sources refer to the amount of stored unconsolidated material which is the basic condition for debris flows to occur. Early studies on debris flow were mostly focused on the analysis of rainfall conditions, especially on debris flow prediction or forecast [8-9]. However, as debris flow is a product of the combined action of rainfall, topography and material sources, given that rainfall conditions are the key to predicting or forecasting a debris flow, material source conditions should be the key to preventing any such events. The increasingly serious debris flow disasters are not only resulted - 8761 - Vol. 19 [2014], Bund. Y 8762 from the increased extreme weather, but have a greater relation to human economic activities that have destructed the eco environment. Human activities such as deforestation for farmland expansion, steep sloping plantation and mine exploitation all add to the debris flow sources and boost the development of debris flow. On this basis, investigating the regional debris flow source conditions and its relationship with human activities will be of great significance for predicting and evaluating debris flow disasters as well as preventing and controlling. On July 24, 2010, a widespread heavy rainstorm across Luanchuan, with locally severe rainstorm, exposed 14 townships to rare-in-history flooding and triggered over 100 geological disaster/hazard points. Debris flow broke out in a number of places in the area and led to catastrophic human casualties and property damages. 68 people died, 21 disappeared and the direct economic damage amounted to nearly RMB 1.98 billion [10]. According to the Emergency Investigation Report on the Geological Disaster Induced by the “7.24” Severe Rainstorm in Luanchuan County, Henan Province (2010), 29 debris flow disaster points were triggered including 2 large points and 5 medium points. This paper is designed to analyze the material source conditions for the 7.24 debris flow in Luanchuan County with a view to offering instructions for the post-disaster reconstruction and the prevention. OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY AREA Luanchuan County is located in the mountains of Western Henan Province (Figure 1). This area is characterized by complicated topography, including crisscrossed mountains, precipitous landform, high gully slope and developed unstable slopes. Rock formations within the area are complex and diverse, strongly weathered with well-developed joints and thick loose slope washes. In the area, mining and other human engineering activities are intense and frequent, and rainfall is heavy and concentrated. These factors aforementioned have resulted in physical geological events, present in the form of debris flow, landslide, collapse as well as subsidence, unstable sloping and weathering. Geomorphy and topogaphy Luanchuan County lies in the mountains. The northern part is Xiong’er mountain range. Eyu Ridge, a branch of Funiu Mountain, traverses the center of the county and divides it into two gully-stream zones. The south gully-stream is the Yi River basin and the north is the Xiaohe basin. The entire territory is higher in the southwest than the northeast with the highest altitude 2212.5m at the peak of Jijiaojian Mountain and the lowest altitude of 450m at the exit of the Yi River in Tangying Village. The relative relief is 1762.5m. According to the Report on the Geological Disaster Survey and Zonation of Luanchuan County, Henan Province (Mar 2002), the county comprises five geomorphic regions: viz. middle mountain, middle-low mountain, low mountain, low mountain and hill, and plain and terrace regions (Figure 2). Debris flow breaks out mostly around the Luanchuan–Shimiao–Taowan region (Figure 1). This is a middle-low to middle mountain transition characterized by complicated topography, numerous steep slopes and deep valleys, and great riverbed gradients and slope grades, which make up good topographic conditions for the formation of debris flow. Vol. 19 [2014], Bund. Y 8763 Meteorology and hydrology Luanchuan County belongs to warm temperate zone, continental monsoon climate. The annual average rainfall of the county is 870.6mm with significant inter-annual variation. The maximum annual rainfall is 1386.6mm (1964) and the minimum is 403.4mm (1987). Normally, the annual rainfall ranges between 700~1000mm. However, the rainfall throughout the whole year is uneven, mostly in June, July, August and September, which account for 64.3% of the year, with July and August contributing 40.6% of the rainfall of the year. Such concentrated rainfall tends to give rise to flooding in spring and autumn and drought in winter and spring. Besides, the complicated topography also renders marked difference in the regional rainfall distribution: the rainfall is heavier in Nanchuan (south of Funiu Mountain) than in Beichuan (north of Funiu Mountain) and more frequent in deeper mountains than in shallower ones. The annual average rainfall in the shallow mountains in Beichuan is less than 750mm while that in the deep mountains in Nanchuan is in the order of 900mm, which is a cause for a flooded south and dry north. Furthermore, the high peaks and deep valleys in the county, distinct sunny and shady sides and wide disparity in light, temperature and rainfall, which result in a highly variable microclimate. Figure 1: Location and debris flow distribution of the study area Geological setting Luanchuan has complex geological tectonics. The regional fault associated with numerous secondary faults (Figure 3).is called Jiaohe-Taowan Fault (part of the Gushi-Luanchuan-Queshan Fault), seperating the Qinling Fold Belt and the North China Platform, Also, as the area is in an uplift region where the mountains are high, valleys are deep, structural fissures, and unloaded fissures and weathering fissures are developed. Moreover, rock and soil masses consisting Vol. 19 [2014], Bund. Y 8764 typically of weathering-prone schist and granite etc. in the county have also resulted in physical geological events and numerous loose deposits. Figure 2: Geomorphic zonation of Luanchuan County Figure 3: Tectonic outline of Luanchuan County Vol. 19 [2014], Bund. Y 8765 SOURCE CONDITIONS FOR THE 7.24 DEBRIS FLOW The 7.24 debris flow disaster in Luanchuan was the product of the combined action of favorable topography, material source conditions and unusual rainstorm. Material source conditions as the basic for the formation of debris flow have close relation to human activities as well as the key to preventing or mitigating debris flow events. Therefore, analyzing the source conditions for the 7.24 debris flow could provide certain reference for the post-disaster reconstruction and prevention of the county. Source distribution Luanchuan has a wide territory, which makes it impractical to give a full and correct understanding of the distribution of debris flow sources simply by field investigation. To achieve more direct presentation of the material sources distribution, an “apparent amount of material sources” index is proposed in our study. The apparent amount of material sources is to outline the water catchment areas bearing noticeable material sources using google images and zone them qualitatively according to the density distribution. In our study, the entire Luanchuan County was divided into a well material source-supplied region, a fairly material source-supplied region, a moderately material source-supplied region and a poorly material source-supplied region. Figure 4 shows the image and Figure 5 shows the exact zonation of these regions. According to Figure 4 and Figure 5, the apparent material sources of the county are mainly found in Section A and Section B in the middle and upper reaches of the Yi River, typically in and on both sides of gullies. The large white domain in Figure 4 represents a large amount of mineral waste residues stacked on both sides of gullies. Figure 1 shows the 7.24 rainstorm- induced debris flow disaster points also lie in the middle and upper reaches of the Yi River.