Relationships between the Wenchuan earthquake-induced landslide and peak ground velocity, Sichuan, China

Based on the data of landslides induced by the Wenchuan earthquake and of strong ground motion, the relationship between earthquake-induced landslides and PGV is analyzed and some conclusions are obtained as following: (1) There exists an obvious positive relation between earthquake-induced landslides and PGV, therefore, PGV can be used to judge the failure result of slopes after an earthquake. (2) The PGV threshold, which can trigger landslides in the Longmenshan earthquake-hit areas, is about 0.5m/s. (3) The upper limit of PGV is about 1.5m/s in the Longmenshan areas. (4) An attenuation law of PGV is built for the Longmenshan areas, which can be used to estimate the area affected by earthquake-induced landslides. Consistency is found if ground motion parameters are used to measure earthquake-induced landslides, which can compensate the deficiencies of earthquake intensity. Research result obtained from this paper can be applied to the rapid hazard evaluation work after an earthquake and provides reference information for emergency rescue decision making.