Abstract
During the recent past the rainfall pattern in Sri Lanka has shown a noticeable change. This paper describes the effect of this change on the occurrence of landslides and their impacts to eco systems. This study shows that most of the landslides occurring in Sri Lanka during northeast monsoons, southwest monsoons and second inter-monsoon were located in three distinctively separated areas. Analysis of rainfall time series shows a trend of increased lengths of dry periods along with an increasing trend of rainfall intensity, especially after the late seventies. A strong relation is obtained between the location of landslides and the spatial distribution of areas where rainfall intensity is increased.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Amaratunnga G.K. 1994. Negative Impact of Landslides on Environment.Proceedings, National Symposium on Landslide in Sri Lanka Volume 01, National Building Research Organization, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Pp. 207–210.
Brunetti, M., Buffoni, L., Mauger, M., Nanni, T. 2001a. Precipitation Intensity Trends in Northern Italy.International Journal of Climatology 20: 1017–1031.
Brunetti, M., Mauger, M., Nanni, T. 2001b. Changes in Total Precipitation, Rainy Days and Extreme Events in Northeastern Italy.International Journal of Climatology 21: 861–871.
Dissanayake A.K. 1998. A Study of Geotechnical Aspects of some Sri Lankan Landslides. A Master of Philosophy Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Domroes, M., Ranatunga, E. 1993. Analysis of Inter-station Daily Rainfall Correlation During the Southwest Monsoon in the Wet Zone of Sri Lanka.Geografiska Annaler 75A (3): 137–148.
Groisman, P.Y., Karl, T.R., Easterling, D.R., Knight, R.W., Jamason, P.F., Hennessy, K.J., Suppiah, R., Page, C., Wibig, M., Fortuniak, J., Razivaev, K., Douglass, V.N., Forland, A., Zhai, E.J. 1999. Changes in the Probability of Heavy Precipitation: Important Indicators of Climatic Change.Climate Change 42: 243–283.
Herath S. and Ratnayake, U.R. 2004. Monitoring Rainfall Trends to Predict Adverse Impacts—a Case Study from Sri Lanka (1964–1993).Global Environmental Change 14: 71–79.
Houghton, J.T., Meira Filho, L.G., Callander, B.A., Harris, N., Kattenberg, A., Maskell, K. (eds.). 1996. IPCC Climate Change.The IPCC Second Assessment Report. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Kotapola J. 1994. Landslides in Sri Lanka in the 21st Century.Proceedings, National Symposium on Landslide in Sri Lanka Volume 01. National Building Research Organization, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Pp. 161–168.
Manton, M.J., Della Marta, P.M., Haylock, M.R., Hennessy, K.J., Nicholls, N., Chambers, L.E., Collins, D.A., Daw, G., Finet, A., Gunawan, D., Inape, K., Isobe, H., Kestin, T.S., Lefale, P., Leyu, C.H., Lwin, T., Maitrepierre, L., Ourprasitwong, N., Page, C.M., Pahalad, J., Plummer, N., Salinger, M.J., Suppiah, R., Tran, V.L., Trewin, B., Tibig, I., Yee, D. 2001. Trends in Extreme Daily Rainfall and Temperature in Southeast Asia and the South Pacic: 1961–1998.International Journal of Climatalogy 21: 269–284.
Ministry of Forestry and Environment of Sri Lanka. 2001.National State of the Environment (SoE) of Sri Lanka in 2001. UNEP report, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ratnayake, U., Herath, S. Changing rainfall and its impact on landslides in Sri Lanka. J. Mt. Sci. 2, 218–224 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02973195
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02973195