Mechanics of debris flows and rock avalanches: Chapter 43
Edited by: Harindra Joseph Fernando
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Abstract
Debris flows are geophysical phenomena intermediate in character between rock avalanches and flash floods. They commonly originate as water-laden landslides on steep slopes and transform into liquefied masses of fragmented rock, muddy water, and entrained organic matter that disgorge from canyons onto valley floors. Typically including 50%–70% solid grains by volume, attaining speeds >10 m/s, and ranging in size up to ∼109 m3, debris flows can denude mountainsides, inundate floodplains, and devastate people and property (Figure 43.1). Notable recent debris-flow disasters resulted in more than 20,000 fatalities in Armero, Colombia, in 1985 and in Vargas state, Venezuela, in 1999.
| Publication type | Book chapter |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Book Chapter |
| Title | Mechanics of debris flows and rock avalanches: Chapter 43 |
| ISBN | 9781439816707 |
| DOI | 10.1201/b14241-47 |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | CRC Press |
| Contributing office(s) | Volcano Science Center |
| Description | 15 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Book |
| Larger Work Title | Handbook of environmental fluid dynamics, Volume One |
| First page | 573 |
| Last page | 587 |