Storm rainfall conditions for floods and debris flows from recently burned areas in southwestern Colorado and southern California

Cannon, Susan H.; Gartner, Joseph E.; Wilson, Raymond C.; Bowers, J.C.; Laber, J. L.

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.03.019

Cited by 427 publications

(340 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…Several studies have also found that peak rainfall intensity and the initiation of mass movements are often concurrent (Aleotti 2004;Chien-Yuan et al 2005;Guzzetti et al 2007Guzzetti et al , 2008Dahal and Hasegawa 2008;Saito et al 2010aSaito et al , 2010b. Although antecedent rainfall also plays an important role in the initiation of mass movement (Kim et al 1992;Glade 1997;Crozier 1999;Glade et al 2000;Guzzetti et al 2007Guzzetti et al , 2008Dahal and Hasegawa 2008), intensity-duration (I-D) thresholds and/or the peak rainfall intensity are often used to predict mass movements and warn the appropriate authorities of potential mass movement hazards (Onodera et al 1974;Keefer et al 1987;Aleotti 2004;Hong et al 2005;Cannon et al 2008;Coe et al 2008;Dahal and Hasegawa 2008;Guzzetti et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rainfall intensity–duration conditions for mass movements in Taiwan

Chen

Saitô

Oguchi

2015

Prog. in Earth and Planet. Sci.

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Mass movements caused by rainfall events in Taiwan are analyzed during a 7-year period from 2006 to 2012. Data from the Taiwan Soil and Water Conservation Bureau reports were compiled for 263 mass movement events, including 156 landslides, 91 debris flows, and 16 events with both landslides and debris flows. Rainfall totals for each site location were obtained from interpolated rain gauge data. The rainfall intensity-duration (I-D) relationship was examined to establish a rainfall threshold for mass movements using random sampling: I = 18.10(±2.67)D −0.17(±0.04) , where I is mean rainfall intensity (mm/h) and D is the time (h) between the beginning of a rainfall event and the resulting mass movement. Significant differences were found between rainfall intensities and thresholds for landslides and debris flows. For short-duration rainfall events, higher mean rainfall intensities were required to trigger debris flows. In contrast, for long-duration rainfall events, similar mean rainfall intensities triggered both landslides and debris flows. Mean rainfall intensity was rescaled by mean annual precipitation (MAP) to define a new threshold: I MAP = 0.0060(±0.0009)D −0.17(±0.04) , where I MAP is rescaled rainfall intensity and MAP is the minimum for mountainous areas in Taiwan (3000 mm). Although the I-D threshold for Taiwan is high, the I MAP -D threshold for Taiwan tends to be low relative to other areas around the world. Our results indicate that Taiwan is highly prone to rainfall-induced mass movements. This study also shows that most mass movements occur in high rainfall-intensity periods, but some events occur before or after the rainfall peak. Both antecedent and peak rainfall play important roles in triggering landslides, whereas debris flow occurrence is more related to peak rainfall than antecedent rainfall.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rainfall intensity–duration conditions for mass movements in Taiwan

Chen

Saitô

Oguchi

2015

Prog. in Earth and Planet. Sci.

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“…A C value of 80% was applied according to other studies in similar conditions (e.g., White et al, 1997). Equations from previous studies involving similar conditions were also applied, particularly those of Caine (1980) and Cannon et al (2008), to provide comparable results in a broad context.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The procedure has been explained in the text, but the value obtained has not been considered to be valid; then, indirect values of precipitation have been obtained from other equations (Caine, 1980;Cannon et al, 2008) to have an order of magnitude of precipitation.…”

Section: Response To Reviewersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire-related debris flows in the Iberian Range, Spain

et al. 2013

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Debris flows occurred three weeks following a wildfire in August 1986 in the Najerilla River valley in the Iberian Range, northern Spain. The flows were triggered by a brief, intense rainstorm (approximately 25 mm h-1 over 15 minutes) in a small area with steep slopes covered by a deep colluvium of quartzite clasts. This storm resulted in the development of several unconfined hillslope debris flows and the formation in the Pítare ravine of an alluvial fan, which partially blocked the Najerilla River. We analysed the conditions that led to the development of the debris flows, and estimated the rainfall threshold and the total volume of mobilised sediment. Four factors contributed to the debris flows: (i) the occurrence of a rainstorm three weeks following a wildfire, which had removed the plant cover from the soil; (ii) the steep slopes in the area were most affected by the debris flows (slopes > 30º); (iii) the presence of quartzite scarps on the hillslopes, which favoured the occurrence of a 'firehose effect' involving channelised surface runoff; and (iv) the low plasticity index values of the fine material of the colluvium (indices of 7 to 8), which enabled rapid liquefaction. Estimates of rainfall intensity from the peak flow in the Pítare ravine indicated that 81 mm of rainfall fell in 15 minutes, although this quantity was clearly overestimated given the high proportion of sediment carried out during the peak flow. Various equations applied to relatively similar conditions that occurred elsewhere indicated a rainfall-threshold of approximately 25 mm h-1 for a time of concentration of 15 minutes. The total sediment transported by the debris flows was 10,500 m3 (15,750 Mg, 6,800 Mg km-2), and the Pítare stream alone transported a minimum of 4,000 m3 (6,000 Mg, 2,500 Mg km-2). These results suggest that the rainfall threshold for initiating debris flows is decreased following a wildfire such that a typical rainstorm can trigger a severe erosion and sediment transport event. Given the absence of fresh landslide scars on the hillslopes, the origin of the firerelated debris flows in the Najerilla River valley appears to have been directly linked to increased rates of hillslope runoff, with overland having a greater effect than infiltration for triggered landslides. COVER LETTER EXPLAINING THE CHANGES INTRODUCED IN THE PAPER "FIRE-RELATED DEBRIS FLOWS IN THE IBERIAN RANGE, SPAIN"Authors: José M. García-Ruiz, José Arnáez, Amelia Gómez-Villar, Luis Ortigosa, Noemí Lana-RenaultWe have corrected the paper carefully following the instructions and suggestions from the referees, to whom we acknowledge their detailed work, which helped us to significantly improve the content of the paper. For this reason we include a short reference to the referees in the "Aknowledgements" section.These are the changes we have introduced:Reviewer 1 -"The study is too descriptive". We have estimated both the intensity of precipitation and the volume mobilised by debris flows, and also we have applied some equations in order to co...

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“…The probability model was developed using logistic multiple regression analyses of data from 517 basins in 21 fires that burned between 2003and 2008in southern California (S.H. Cannon, unpub.…”

Section: Methods and Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergency assessments of postfire debris-flow hazards for the 2009 La Brea, Jesusita, Guiberson, Morris, Sheep, Oak Glen, Pendleton, and Cottonwood fires in southern California

Storm rainfall conditions for floods and debris flows from recently burned areas in southwestern Colorado and southern California

Cited by 427 publications

References 21 publications

Rainfall intensity–duration conditions for mass movements in Taiwan

Rainfall intensity–duration conditions for mass movements in Taiwan

Fire-related debris flows in the Iberian Range, Spain

Emergency assessments of postfire debris-flow hazards for the 2009 La Brea, Jesusita, Guiberson, Morris, Sheep, Oak Glen, Pendleton, and Cottonwood fires in southern California

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