Work

Satellite Image Survey of Landslides Triggered by the 2024 Wushi Earthquake, Xinjiang, China

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT On January 23, 2024, an Ms7.1 (Mw7.0) earthquake struck Wushi County in the Aksu Prefecture of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The Wushi earthquake triggered various types of landslides, including rockfalls and rolling stones. This study utilised satellite images to establish an inventory of landslides triggered by the Wushi earthquake and conducted a preliminary analysis of their development patterns. The results indicate that the Wushi earthquake induced at least 1273 landslides within an area of 36,395 km 2 . The landslides ranged in size from as small as 9 m 2 to as large as 13,418 m 2 , with a total affected area of 0.42 km 2 . The overall landslide number density and area density in the study area were 0.03 km −2 and 0.001%, respectively. The majority of landslides occurred in Yamansukeerkezizu Town of Wushi County and were predominantly small in scale. Nearly 95% of the landslides were smaller than 1000 m 2 and exhibited high mobility. The spatial distribution of landslides was significantly influenced by the positions of the hanging wall and footwall, with the number of landslides on the hanging wall being nearly 5 times that of the footwall. The Wushi earthquake displayed a relatively weak landslide‐triggering capacity, with both the number and scale of landslides being lower than those typically observed in strike‐slip earthquakes of similar magnitude. These findings provide a detailed inventory for analysing the distribution patterns and hazard assessment of landslides triggered by the Wushi earthquake and offer a crucial basis for studying the mechanisms of earthquake‐induced landslides in the Tianshan region.

Source: Geoscience Data Journal

DOI: 10.1002/gdj3.70037

Authors: Tao Li, Chong Xu, Yuandong Huang

Institutions: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Institute of Natural Hazards, Ministry of Emergency Management of the People's Republic of China, Xinjiang University

Language: English

Topic: Landslides and related hazards

Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,290

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Institute of Natural Hazards