Analysis of the spatial distribution of the landslides triggered by the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, Japan

The Great Kanto Earthquake that occurred in the southern part of Kanto district, Japan, on September 1, 1923, was reported to have triggered numerous landslides (over 89,080 slope failures over an area of 86.32 km2). This study investigated the relationship between the landslide occurrence caused by this earthquake and geomorphology, geology, soil, seismic ground motion, and coseismic deformation. We found that a higher landslide density was mainly related to a larger absolute curvature and a higher slope angle, as well as to several geological units (Neogene plutonic rock, accretionary prism, and metamorphic rocks). Moreover, we performed decision tree analyses, which showed that slope angle, geology, and coseismic deformation were correlated to landslide density in that order. However, no clear correlation was found between landslide density and seismic ground motion. These results suggest that landslide density was greater in areas of large slope angle or fragile geology in the area with strong shaking enough to trigger landslides.