Landslide Disaster Triggered by the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake in and around Minamiaso Village, Western Part of Aso Caldera, Southwestern Japan

The Kumamoto earthquake (Mj 7.3) on April 16, 2016 triggered numerous landslides in and around Minamiaso Village, which is located at the western part of Aso caldera, southwestern Japan. The landslides were divided into two types: landslides occurring at steep caldera walls and landslides generated on the slopes of post-caldera central cones of Aso Volcano. Several landslides occurred on slopes steeper than 25 degrees at the northwestern to western caldera walls, which comprise pre-Aso volcanic rocks (lavas and pyroclastics). The largest landslide (ca. 300 m high, 130-200 m wide) occurred on the western caldera wall, damaging National Route 57 and the Hohi line of the Japan Railway. Because a clear rupture surface could not be observed, unstable blocks which had been divided by cracks, were likely to collapse due to the intense earthquake on April 16. At the post-caldera central cones of Aso Volcano, earthquake-induced landslides were generated not only on steep slopes but also on slopes gentler than 10 degrees. They occurred in unconsolidated superficial tephra deposits overlying lavas and agglutinates, and the thickness of the slides usually ranged from 4 to 8 m. The sliding masses traveled long distances (< 600 m), compared to small differences in elevation. The deposits were composed of tephra blocks of a few meters and there was no evidence that they were transported by water. These facts suggest that some landslides mobilized rapidly into debris avalanches, traveling a few hundred meters. The associated debris avalanche resulted in five casualties and severe damage to houses at the foot of the Takanoobane lava dome. The characteristics of the April 16, 2016 earthquake-induced landslides differ from those of rainfall-induced landslides in July 2012, June 2001, and July 1990 at Aso Volcano, and provide important information for preventing or mitigating future landslide disasters in the Aso caldera region.