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Debris flows in the Andean ranges of central Chile and Argentina triggered by 2013 summer storms: characteristics and consequences

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Abstract

In January and February 2013, heavy rainfall during local summer storms triggered a large number of landslides in the Andes Main and Frontal ranges of central Chile and Argentina (32°–34° S). Most of the mass movements classify as debris flows, while rockfalls and debris avalanches also occurred. The major debris flows occurred in the Maipo and Aconcagua valleys (Chile) and along the Mendoza River valley (Argentina). The debris flows caused serious disruption to the international highway connecting both countries and local roads and produced a large impact on the population of major cities downstream, mainly due to potable water supply cutoffs. Debris flow deposits have silt and clay particles usually ranging between 10 and 20 % by weight, which favors the movement of viscous flows in short, steep lateral gullies. Most of the flows tended to channelize, and the materials were deposited in alluvial fans and cones in areas with previous records of such events. This indicates that they constitute a significant hazard that may not have been properly considered in road infrastructure and potable water supply strategies for the region. This potential hazard may become more serious due to climate change in the near future.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the collaboration of Hugo Ochoa, Sofía Rebolledo, Mauricio Reyes, Ailin Railao, and Carolina Lauro during field work and laboratory analyses. We thank the AES-GENER hydropower company for sharing their meteorological records. We are especially grateful to with Walter Pérez from the DNV (Argentina) who let us use his report of events of 2013 summer and head of this department Eng. Rivas. Many thanks also to René Garreaud and Maximiliano Viale for their discussions on climatic issues and to Jacobus Le Roux for his valuable comments and proofreading of the draft manuscript. This work was financed by the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Chile (S. Sepúlveda) and project PIP 628 (S.M. Moreiras).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Chile, Plaza Ercilla 803, Santiago, Chile

    Sergio A. Sepúlveda, Marisol Lara & Alejandro Alfaro

  2. CONICET-IANIGLA (CCT), Av. Dr. Ruiz Leal s/n. Parque Gral, San Martín, Mendoza, Argentina

    Stella M. Moreiras

  3. Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, Av. Santa María 0104, Providencia, Santiago, Chile

    Alejandro Alfaro

Authors
  1. Sergio A. Sepúlveda
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  2. Stella M. Moreiras
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  3. Marisol Lara
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  4. Alejandro Alfaro
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Correspondence to Sergio A. Sepúlveda.

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Sepúlveda, S.A., Moreiras, S.M., Lara, M. et al. Debris flows in the Andean ranges of central Chile and Argentina triggered by 2013 summer storms: characteristics and consequences. Landslides 12, 115–133 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0539-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0539-0

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