Understanding The Types And Characteristics Of Landslides In Sri Lanka

Landslides of various types are considered as a significant hazard as it brings intense impacts to the communities living in the landslide prone areas of Rattota in the Matale district. Thus, understanding the characteristics of landslides in this region is imperative in terms of landslide risk reduction.This geographical study is mainly concerned with identifying the nature and characteristics of different landslides occurred at different sites. Field investigation, interviews and secondary data sources, including maps were accommodated to obtain the necessary data for this study. 25 small and largescale landslides were analyzed for this purpose. The results revealed that, large-scale landslides are infrequent while small scale landslides are frequent phenomenon. The study area is exposed to different types of landslides such as rock slide/rock fall, earth slide, cutting failures, soil creep, and debris flow. In terms of spatial distribution, North-Western part is mostly exposed to risk from man-made cutting failures while few events have been recorded in the rest of the area. Debris flows were common in Southern and Eastern part which consists of more river channels. Cutting failures are high in frequency when compared with other types of naturally induced landslides. However, debris flows have brought intense impacts in terms of environment and socioeconomy. Therefore, this study concludes that having an obvious perceptive of spatial characteristics in landslides, the planning process should be carried out to minimize the risk of landslide hazard.