Landslides and dammed lakes triggered by the 2017 Ms6.9 Milin earthquake in the Tsangpo gorge

• Published in: Landslides Vol. 16; no. 5; pp. 993 - 1001
• Main Authors: Hu, Kaiheng, Zhang, Xiaopeng, You, Yong, Hu, Xudong, Liu, Weiming, Li, Yong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Catchment area; Catchments; Civil Engineering; Debris flow; Detritus; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Earthquakes; Flooding; Geography; Geomorphology; Glacial drift; Glacial periods; Glacial till; Glacier flow; Glacier melting; Glaciers; Image resolution; Lakes; Landslides; Landslides & mudslides; Meltwater; Natural Hazards; Rain; Rainfall; Recent Landslides; Satellite imagery; Sediment; Seismic activity; Seismic stability; Spaceborne remote sensing; Dammed lakes; Milin earthquake; Coseismic landslides; Debris flow; Outburst flood
• ISSN: 1612-510X; 1612-5118
• DOI: 10.1007/s10346-019-01168-w

An Ms6.9 earthquake in the Yarlung Tsangpo gorge on November 18, 2017 caused more than 700 landslides concentrating along the gorge’s great bend, and three dammed lakes. The location and area of the landslides are obtained by interpreting high-resolution satellite images before and after the earthquake. About 31.45 Mm 3 of sediment from the landslides are distributed in seven catchments that are highly susceptible to debris flows. In 2018, at least three large-scale glacier-debris flows happened at Sedongpu, one of the seven catchments, and blocked temporarily the main river twice. The subsequent inundation and outburst floods resulted in infrastructure and property losses extensively beyond the high-seismic-intensity zone. Increase in the frequency of debris flows is attributed to the instability of glaciers and sediment supply caused by the earthquake. Glacier-debris flows will remain active for a long period due to massive glacial till, abundant rainfall, and meltwater. Geomorphic hazard chain triggered by such a mid-strong earthquake demonstrates that although coseismic landslides only occur in a limited area, the space and duration of the quake-induced hazards could extend largely under special geographical conditions.