Unraveling the hydraulic properties of loess for landslide prediction:A study on variations in loess landslides in Lanzhou,Dingxi,and Tianshui,China

Loess has distinctive characteristics,leading to frequent landslide disasters and posing serious threats to the lives and properties of local re sidents.The involvement of water repre sents a critical factor in inducing loess landslides.This study focuses on three neighboring cities sequentially situated on the Loess Plateau along the direction of aeolian deposition of loess,namely Lanzhou,Dingxi,and Tianshui,which are densely populated and prone to landslide disasters.The variations in hydraulic properties,including water retention capacity and permeability,are investigated through Soil Water Characteristic Curve(SWCC)test and hydraulic conductivity test.The experimental findings revealed that Tianshui loess exhibited the highest water retention capacity,followed by Dingxi loess,while Lanzhou loess demonstrated the lowest water retention capacity.Contrastingly,the results for the saturated permeability coefficient were found to be the opposite:Tianshui loess showed the lowest permeability,whereas Lanzhou loess displayed the highest permeability.These results are supported and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM)observation.In addition,the water retention capacity is mathematically expressed using the van Genuchten model and extended to predict unsaturated hydraulic properties of loess.The experimental results exhibit a strong accordance with one another and align with the regional distribution patterns of disasters.

Prevention and Countermeasures of Driving Hazards

As a modern means of transportation,cars have made travelling much easier.However,cars also lead to many traffic accidents,which are often dangerous.Through an investigation and analysis of traffic accidents,it was found that the hidden dangers of driving are one of the main causes of car accidents.In order to better ensure the safety of driving,the hidden dangers of driving should be better prevented,traffic safety measures should be improved,and better protection should be provided for people’s lives and property.Therefore,we analyzed the hazards of driving and proposed prevention measures,in hopes of improving driving safety.

Assessment of Man-made and Natural Hazards in the Surroundings of Hydropower Projects under Construction in the Beas Valley of Northwestern Himalaya

Mountain ecosystem, on the earth, has plenty of natural resources. In Himachal Pradesh all the rivers are snowfed and therefore rich in water resources. These resources have been supporting enough for the generation of electricity through introducing hydropower projects since the last decade However, every developmental activity has its own negative impacts on the surrounding environment. Due to the fragile nature of topography and delicacy of ecology of the Himalaya, it results in lot of disturbances because of high degree of human interferences like construction of major hydropower projects. The increased extent of geological hazards, such as landslides, rock fall and soil erosion, have mainly due to alike developmental interventions in the natural ecosystem. So understanding and analysing such impacts of the hydropower projects have mainly been on the environment in various forms but natural hazards have been frequent ones. The present study, therefore, focuses mainly on the Parbati Stage II （800 MW） and the Parbati Stage III （520 MW） hydropower projects; both of which fall within the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. Based on the perception survey of the local communities, the existing land use pattern, status of total acquired land of the residents by hydropower projects, frequent natural hazards and resultant loss to the local communities due to upcoming construction of hydropower projects surrounding to the Parbati Stage II and III have been analysed in the paper. Also, the preventive measures to mitigate these adverse impacts have been suggested to strengthen these projects in eco-friendly manner in the mountain context.

Assessment of Radiation Hazard from External and Internal Exposures at Adham and Surroundings in KSA

Twenty-eight environmental samples (eight well water, sixteen granitic rocks and four soils) were collected from different parts of Adham governorate (Adham, Haqal and Al-Jaizah), to assess the radiological hazard and cancer risk from different perspectives. Adham is situated in a valley between two granitic mountain chains, where much of water supply for drinking, house use and irrigation comes from wells collecting water rains. The activity concentrations of naturally occurring 40K, 226Ra and 232Th and radionuclides were measured by gamma-ray spectrometry for all samples using RGK-1, RGU-1 and RGTh-1, IAEA reference standards issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency, for detector efficiency calibration. The measured values were utilized to evaluate the internal and external exposures both outdoors and indoors. Different standard room models were adopted for this respect to evaluate the indoor gamma-rays exposure from construction materials as well as internal exposure to radon gas emanating from them. Radon concentration indoors, exceeded the upper reference level in dwellings set at 300 Bq/m3 by the world health organization, in many scenarios. The mean value of the total excess lifetime cancer risk (due to external exposure from gamma-rays) was 2.29 × 10-3, above the world average value of 1.45 × 10-3. Furthermore, the measured radon concentrations in all water samples exceeded the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) 11.1 Bq·L-1 standard for drinking water, ranging from 12 to 38 Bq·L-1 with a mean value of 27 Bq·L-1. The total annual effective dose (due to inhalation and ingestion) from radon in water, ranged from 58 to 192 μSv/y (for adults) exceeding the international permissible limit of 100 μSv/y, in seven out of eight samples. According to obtained results, the internal exposure from radon in directly used water from wells, might be the major reason of any suspected radiological health hazard especially in Haqal. The second reason might be the internal exposure from indoor radon gas inhalation in poorly ventilated dwellings.

How far have we come?Review of main public policies to reduce landslide impacts in Brazil

During the rainy season in Brazil,landslides can have catastrophic consequences,including loss of life,damage to urban infrastructure and significant economic impacts.Now,more than eight million people in Brazil live in disaster-prone areas.The objective of this article is to present a chronological review of the principal policies and programmes at the national,state,and municipal levels,with an emphasis on their key actions aimed at mitigating the impact of disasters related to natural hazards,particularly landslides.Our analysis was based on official records of public policies from the national,state,and municipal governments.The results show that several initiatives were initially developed at the local and regional level.However,it was not until the late 1980s that a comprehensive organisation of civil protection at the national level emerged as a response measure.It is possible to highlight three phases(understanding,coexistence,and prevention)of institutional action focused on risk management in the face of disasters.Despite the growing knowledge of risk scenarios,disasters continue to occur in Brazil on an annual basis,revealing several obstacles to reducing their impact,particularly given the social and economic disparities between Brazilian regions and the applicability of public policies that must overcome the limitations of each municipality.

Analysis of debris flow control effect and hazard assessment in Xinqiao Gully,Wenchuan M_(s)8.0 earthquake area based on numerical simulation

Xinqiao Gully is located in the area of the 2008 Wenchuan M_(s)8.0 earthquake in Sichuan province,China.Based on the investigation of the 2023"6-26"Xinqiao Gully debris flow event,this study assessed the effectiveness of the debris flow control project and evaluated the debris flow hazards.Through field investigation and numerical simulation methods,the indicators of flow intensity reduction rate and storage capacity fullness were proposed to quantify the effectiveness of the engineering measures in the debris flow event.The simulation results show that the debris flow control project reduced the flow intensity by41.05%to 64.61%.The storage capacity of the dam decreases gradually from upstream to the mouth of the gully,thus effectively intercepting and controlling the debris flow.By evaluating the debris flow of different recurrence intervals,further measures are recommended for managing debris flow events.

Deformation,structure and potential hazard of a landslide based on InSAR in Banbar county,Xizang(Tibet)

The Tibetan Plateau is characterized by complex geological conditions and a relatively fragile ecological environment.In recent years,there has been continuous development and increased human activity in the Tibetan Plateau region,leading to a rising risk of landslides.The landslide in Banbar County,Xizang(Tibet),have been perturbed by ongoing disturbances from human engineering activities,making it susceptible to instability and displaying distinct features.In this study,small baseline subset synthetic aperture radar interferometry(SBAS-InSAR)technology is used to obtain the Line of Sight(LOS)deformation velocity field in the study area,and then the slope-orientation deformation field of the landslide is obtained according to the spatial geometric relationship between the satellite’s LOS direction and the landslide.Subsequently,the landslide thickness is inverted by applying the mass conservation criterion.The results show that the movement area of the landslide is about 6.57×10^(4)m^(2),and the landslide volume is about 1.45×10^(6)m^(3).The maximum estimated thickness and average thickness of the landslide are 39 m and 22 m,respectively.The thickness estimation results align with the findings from on-site investigation,indicating the applicability of this method to large-scale earth slides.The deformation rate of the landslide exhibits a notable correlation with temperature variations,with rainfall playing a supportive role in the deformation process and displaying a certain lag.Human activities exert the most substantial influence on the spatial heterogeneity of landslide deformation,leading to the direct impact of several prominent deformation areas due to human interventions.Simultaneously,utilizing the long short-term memory(LSTM)model to predict landslide displacement,and the forecast results demonstrate the effectiveness of the LSTM model in predicting landslides that are in a continuous development and movement phase.The landslide is still active,and based on the spatial heterogeneity of landslide deformation,new recommendations have been proposed for the future management of the landslide in order to mitigate potential hazards associated with landslide instability.

Study of Radionuclides and Radon Exhalation Rate in Soil and Sand Samples from Tiba, Luxor, Governorate

In this study, the natural radionuclides in soil and sand have been measured by using high purity germanium (HPGe) detector. While, radon exhalation rate has been measured by Alpha GUARD. The data analysis is performed to determine 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K activity concentrations in addition to 222Rn exhalation rate. The values of radium equivalent activity (Raeq), external hazard index (Hex), internal hazard index (Hin), and absorbed dose rate were ranged from 46.46 to 124.16 Bq⋅kg−1, 0.07 to 0.33 Bq⋅kg−1, 0.09 to 0.42 Bq⋅kg−1, and 13.24 to 58.37 nGy⋅h−1 respectively in all samples. The area and mass exhalation rates were increased from 9.16 ±2.83 to 16.18 ±2.83 Bq⋅m−2⋅h−1 and 1.8 ±1.34 to 11.35 ±0.98 Bq⋅kg−1⋅h−1 respectively.

Occurrence and Damage Characteristics of Sugarcane Catastrophic Diseases and Pests in Menglian Sugarcane Area and Their Prevention and Control Strategies

In recent years,the conditions of continuous warm winter,more rain and high humidity are very beneficial to the breeding and survival of sugarcane diseases and pests.Coupled with the degradation of single varieties,more attention on new plants and less on ratoon cane and the unscientific and unreasonable use of chemical pesticides,the types of sugarcane diseases and pests in the Menglian sugarcane area are increasing day by day,and the damage is increasing year by year,resulting in a substantial reduction in production and sugar,and a serious disaster threat to sugarcane production.Based on the field survey and the current sugarcane production practice in Menglian,this paper systematically reviewed the occurrence and damage dynamics and outbreak reasons of catastrophic diseases and pests that seriously influence sugarcane production,and proposed corresponding prevention and control strategies and integrated prevention and control technology according to the occurrence and damage characteristics of catastrophic diseases and pests.

Analysis and Research on 10kV Distribution Network Faults

The 10kV distribution network is an essential component of the power system,and its stable operation is crucial for ensuring reliable power supply.However,various factors can lead to faults in the distribution network.In order to enhance the safety and reliability of power distribution,this paper focuses on the analysis of faults in the 10kV distribution network caused by natural factors,operational factors,human factors,and equipment factors.It elucidates the various hazards resulting from distribution network faults and proposes corresponding preventive measures for different types of faults in the 10kV distribution network.The aim is to mitigate or reduce the impact of distribution network faults,ensuring the safe and stable operation of the distribution system.

GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS AND THEIRS CONTROL

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Study on Occupational Hazards and Preventive Measures for the Constructors in Building Qinghai-Tibetan Railway

To analyze the hazard factors for the constructors through the geographic environment along the Qinghai-Tibetan railway. On the basis of the physical examination data of the constructors, we dynamically investigated the impact of the plateau environment on the constructors’ health. We concluded the adaptation after the plain people entering into the plateau, and the application of the medical security measures and the effectiveness of the Plateau diseases preventing and controlling measures during the construction of the Qinghai-Tibetan railway. The results showed that there existed many occupational hazard factors because of the harsh environment in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, and they did a severe harm to the constructors. To take an effective prevention measure could apparently alleviate the occupational hazards, and ensure the safety and health of the constructors. The paper not only provided the valuable experiences for the medical support during the economic construction in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau areas in the future, but also made a contribution for improving the development of the world plateau medicine.

Development laws of geological hazards along urban highway in SouthwestChina and countermeasures for prevention and control

China is a mountainous country with highly developed road geologic hazards, which pose a great threat to theconstruction and operation of highways, bridges, and tunnels and to the safety of people and property. This paperdiscussed the types, basic features, formation, and prevention conditions of road geologic hazards in China basedon field research and study data collected thus far. The study considered an urban area of a city in southwestChina as the center and a geological field investigation was performed over a total of 282 km on three importantlifeline projects. The results show: Types of geologic hazards along the highways are mainly avalanches, debrisflows, and landslides, respectively. Among them, the landslips are mainly distributed along the roads, with slip,dumping, and wrong break types as the main ones;the debris flows are widely distributed, mainly concentrated inthe river valleys;and the unstable slopes are relatively few in number. Geological disasters are characterized bylarge-scale and concentrated triggering in time and space, and a single disaster can easily trigger other disasters,thus forming a chain of disasters. Neotectonic movement, seismic activity, topography, climatic conditions,stratigraphic lithology, and human activities are important factors leading to geologic hazards in the study area.This study is of great practical significance for reducing the occurrence of roadbed diseases and prolonging theservice life of highways.

Radionuclide concentrations in sand samples from riverbanks of Muzaffarabad,Azad Kashmir

This paper presents the results of a radiological risk assessment arising from the presence of naturally occurring radionuclides in sand samples from three riverbanks in Muzaffarabad.The mean values obtained for 232 Th,226 Ra,and 40 K were found to be 44.58 ± 3.34,48.25 ± 1.77,and 239.92 ± 22.73 Bq kg^(-1),respectively.To assess the uniformity of exposure,the radium equivalent activity(Raeq) was calculated and was found to be130.47 ± 8.29 Bqkg^(-1).The current reported value for Raeqis lower than the maximum permissible value,that is,370 Bq kg^(-1),and equivalent to a gamma dose of1.5 m Svy^(-1).To investigate the possible contribution to health risks of alpha particle exposure,the radon exhalation rate(RER) from the sand samples was determined.The mean RER for all the samples was found to be335 m Bq m-^(2) h^(-1).About 43% of the samples were found to have an indoor excess lifetime cancer risk value slightly higher than recommended safety limit of 1,as proposed by the ICRP.A normalized parameter,the equivalent multiplicative factor,was defined and used to compare the current results with the findings of studies performed in other countries.Our findings are relevant to both human health and future environmental radiation monitoring.

Detailed sedimentary structure of the Mianning segment of the Anninghe fault zone revealed by H/V spectral ratio

The Anninghe fault is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault in southwest China and a seismic gap with a potential earthquake larger than MW 7.0 lies in the Mianning-Xichang segment according to recent observations.The shallow structure of this region can offer a glimpse into the geometry of the fault,which plays an important role in earthquake hazard mitigation.To further investigate the sedimentary structure of the Anninghe fault zone,two dense linear arrays with a station spacing of around 80 m were deployed across the fault.In this study,the H/V spectral ratio(HVSR),together with its peak frequency at each station site,was obtained by applying the Nakamura method.Our findings demonstrate that the peak frequency behaves in high correlation with lithology and is controlled by topography.HVSR in foothills or regions with magmatic intrusion shows a single peak at about 2–3 Hz.In locations with abundant Quaternary sedimentation,such as Anninghe valleys and fracture zones,another low-frequency peak around 0.4 Hz can be noticed in HVSR.By using the empirical relationship,the thickness of the sedimentary layer around the fault fracture zone is estimated to be 300–600 m.Furthermore,the sedimentary interface shows a downward dip to the east,possibly influenced by the east-west extrusion stress.Considering the resonance effect,buildings with 6–9 stories in the valley area of the Anninghe require additional attention in earthquake hazard prevention.

Influence of droughts on remote villages in the karst region of Guizhou Province, China: Causes and control

Even though the precipitation is abundant in the Karst region of Guizhou Province, remote villages in this area frequently suffer severe droughts. This paper studied the causes of droughts in this region through field investigation and references collection. Based on the cause analysis, some suggestions were provided for hazard prevention and control from an engineering perspective. Besides occasional extreme weathers, the drought in this area is primarily caused by its unique geological structures of Karst plateau and underdeveloped agricultural techniques. Meanwhile, the vicious cycle between drought and poverty, which causes the deficiency of water conservancy facilities and hazard prevention awareness, is an important reason for the frequent occurrence of agricultural and socioeconomic drought. Considering the social and economic conditions of remote villages, the long-term control of drought can only be realized if current measures are capable of bring immediate effects and benefits. Therefore, the construction of well-planned and designed water conservancy system based on each village's natural and social conditions are the priority for current hazard prevention. Generally, the exploitation of subterranean river should be considered as the first choice to stabilize the water supply for remote villages. Meanwhile, the construction and improvement of micro water conservancy facilities, such as small water tank, small pond and so on, can effectively support the water providence during droughts as well.

Development of a support system for creating disaster prevention maps focusing on road networks and hazardous elements

As a disaster prevention measure based on self-assistance and mutual assistance,disaster prevention maps are being created with citizen participation throughout Japan.The process of creating disaster prevention maps is itself a disaster prevention measure that contributes to raising awareness of disaster prevention by promoting exchange and cooperation within the region.By focusing on relations between road networks and hazardous elements,we developed a system to support disaster prevention map creation that visualizes roads at high risk during a disaster and facilitates the study of evacuation simulations.This system leads to a completed disaster prevention map in three phases.In the first phase,we use a device with GPS logging functions to collect information related to hazardous elements.In the second phase,we use Google Maps(“online map,”below)to visualize roads with high evacuation risk.In the final phase,we perform a regional evaluation through simulations of disaster-time evacuations.In experimental verifications,by conducting usability tests after creating a disaster prevention map in the target area,we evaluated the system in terms of simple operability and visibility.We found that by implementing this series of processes,even users lacking specialized knowledge regarding disaster prevention can intuitively discover evacuation routes while considering the relations between visualized road networks and hazardous elements.These results show that compared with disaster prevention maps having simple site notations using existing WebGIS systems,disaster prevention maps created by residents while inspecting the target area raise awareness of risks present in the immediate vicinity even in normal times and are an effective support system for prompt disaster prevention measures and evacuation drills.

Major hazard sources analysis and prevention measures of packaging emulsion explosive production line

Emulsion explosive with favorable water-resistance performance,storage performance and detonation stability has been widely used in all over the world.The development actuality and production technique characteristics of emulsion explosive in China were introduced firstly.Taken the technique characteristics of packaging emulsion explosive into account,major hazard sources of emulsion explosive production line were analyzed.Finally,prevention measures based on inherent safety of emulsion explosive production were put forward.

The Occurrence Mechanism of Geological Disasters and Countermeasures in a Certain Area

In recent years, natural disasters in China have occurred frequently, especially large disasters such as earthquakes, floods and droughts, which have posed a serious threat to local public safety. In addition, the geological environment of local mountainous areas in China is complex and diverse, and climate change is large. Considering the dynamic coupling effect of rainfall conditions to stimulate geological disasters, this paper takes dynamic risk assessment technology as the guide, constructs a dynamic risk early warning model of geological disasters, establishes a prototype system, realizes dynamic risk assessment and emergency early warning of geological disasters at the regional level, and provides feasible technical support for targeted emergency disaster prevention. At the same time, the investigation and evaluation, mechanism research and monitoring and early warning related to the comprehensive prevention and control of geological disasters are important tasks that cannot be ignored, an important link in the emergency response system for geological disasters, and a key stage process to guide scientific disaster prevention. On the basis of exploring the mechanism and catastrophic effect of rainfall to stimulate landslides and mudslides, we will carry out in-depth research on disaster prevention countermeasures such as systematic engineering disposal, monitoring and early warning.

Hydrogeological Hazards and Control Measures in Engineering Geological Exploration

For engineering geological investigation, hydrographic surveys are particularly important. By operating the equipment, relevant technicians analyze hydrogeological data around the project. A series of corresponding measures were taken to ensure the smooth completion of the project. However, due to the inadequate completion of hydrogeological survey work, it has great harm to the later stage of engineering work, and even will lead to the final failure of the project. Based on this, this paper explores the hazards and prevention measures of hydrogeology in engineering surveys.