ABSTRACT
Slope failure is one of the most significant problems during strong earthquakes. It is important in that it might claim thousands of lives and destroy both public and private properties. One of the consequences of a gigantic landslide is creation of a natural dam. The slope of Tsao-ling in Taiwan failed several times in a large scale in the past: in 1862 and 1941 due to earthquakes and in 1942 due to rainfall. Any seismic risk depends primarily on the regional earthquake activities. Risk in seismic countries is higher than that in nonseismic countries. The extent of risk due to earthquake-induced landslide depends not only on the instability of a slope but also on the travel distance of a failed debris mass. In mitigation of negative effects of slope failure to the human community, it is very important to identify potentially hazardous slopes and to assess the run-out distance.
