Gaining new knowledge from the catastrophic Zhaojiagou landslide on January 11, 2013 in dry season

Abstract

The catastrophic Zhaojiagou landslide suddenly occurred at about 8:20 am on January 11, 2013 in dry season in Zhen-xiong County, Yun-nan Province, southwestern China. The landslide debris rapidly arrived and instantly buried 14 village homes and partially damaged 2 homes of the matured Zhaojiagou village. A total of 63 house-rooms, 31 pig-cattle-sheds and toilet rooms, 46 people, 59 pigs, 5 cattle and 100,000 m2 arable land were buried. Two people were injured. At the time of landslide, 46 people were in their 16 homes and totally buried. They were 27 males and 19 females including 11 boys, 8 girls and 7 elders of age above 60 years. Starting at 8:30 am, the local government organized the urgent rescues and mobilized ~1000 people, and used many excavators, loaders, tractor shovels, spades, and search and rescue dogs. Because of up to 13 m thick soil-rock mixture debris covering large village area, however, the rescue progress was very slow. Until noon of the second day, the 46 buried bodies were found and all dead. All the researchers except the author who investigated this landslide had the consensus that this catastrophic Zhaojiagou landslide was triggered/caused by rainfall or soil liquefaction. This paper presents data and phenomena that cannot be described and explained with the rainfall cause hypothesis and for gaining new knowledge and lessens of originality from this disaster.