27 July 2020

Liujing Village: a large, ongoing valley-blocking landslide in Chongqing, China

Posted by Dave Petley

Liujing Village: a large, ongoing valley-blocking landslide in Chongqing, China

Xinhua has published a photo gallery of a large, valley-blocking landslide located close to Liujing village, in Wulong district, Chongqing, China:-

Liujing Village landslide

Liujing Village: the large, ongoing valley-blocking landslide in Chongqing, China. Image posted by Xinhua

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The landslide has partially blocked the the Yancang River, a tributary of Wujiang River, and a lake has developed, although at this stage the size of barrier is not large:-

Liujing Village landslide

Liujing Village: the toe of the large, ongoing valley-blocking landslide in Chongqing, China. Image posted by Xinhua.

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In the Xinhua article the estimated volume of the landslide is 1.3 million cubic metres, which would seem to be about right to me.  In the upper reaches of the landslide the recent displacement is large.  In the image below, the displacement of the road appears to be in excess of 20 metres:-

Liujing Village landslide

Liujing Village: the significant displacement of the road on the ongoing valley-blocking landslide in Chongqing, China. Image posted by Xinhua.

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Interestingly though, the blockage of the valley is being caused not this part of the landslide, but by a more active flow on the true left (i.e. the left side when facing downslope) of the landslide.  This more dynamic part of the landslide is captured in the image below:-

Liujing Village landslide

Liujing Village: the very active true left portion of the ongoing valley-blocking landslide in Chongqing, China. Image posted by Xinhua.

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Thus, at the moment only a small portion of this landslide is causing the valley-blockage.  If a greater part were to become active then a much larger barrier could develop.

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Quickslide 1: a violent landslide caught on video in India

An energetic landslide was caught on video in India this morning:

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Quickslide 2: Continued landslide problems in Nepal

The unusually active monsoon in Nepal continues to cause substantial problems.  My Republica reports that the road to the border crossing to Tibet at Rasuwagadhi has been blocked by landslides since ThursdayThe price of fruit and vegetables across the country has risen 50% because of the blockages to the major transportation routes.  Unfortunately, in a Tweet this morning, the National Emergency Operation Centre warned of further heavy rainfall this week.