Debris torrents are a type of mass movement that result from intense runoff on steep mountain slopes combined with dramatic erosion. The resulting f low of debris can pose a major threat to infrastructure such as roads, railways and bridges. Floodplains and river channels can be inundated when the material is deposited.
Mass movement erosion occurs when soil or rock material moves downslope under the inf luence of gravity without the direct help of other media such as water or ice. However, water is often involved, reducing the strength of materials and providing fluid transport. There are many sorts of mass movement but if we exclude rockfalls and soil creep, then slide and flow are the two main types. Slides involve largely intact blocks of soil or rock, whereas f lows happen when eroded materials are liquefied, as the name suggests. A simple classification of mass movement hazards is shown in Figure 1.
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