Publication

Abstract : Landslides are mass movement of rocks, debris or earth due to gravitational forces. Rockfall is a special case of landslide and is also induced by similar phenomena when the fractured/ jointed dislodged block of rock, falls or topples from the disjointed exposed ledges and cliffs in vulnerable terrain conditions. Rockfall is a freefall type of mass movement of rocks generally associated with steep cliffs or unstable slopes. The rockfalls occur when rock blocks or large boulders become dislodged from an exposed surface/cliff and movement is created by combination of free fall, rolling or bouncing under the influence of gravity (Cruden and Varnes, 1996). Rockfalls pose enhanced devastating and hazardous conditions when such events occur across transport corridors or near human settlements. In India, such mass wasting of material may occur in regions of the Himalaya and Western Ghats in conjunction with other major natural geohazards such as floods, earthquakes (e.g., GSI, 2009; 2013; 2015a & b; Ramasamy et al., 2011; Ramesh et al., 2022; Siddique et al., 2019; Wadhawan, 2019; Wadhawan et al., 2020). Changing land use practices, widening of transport corridors, extreme weather events in recent times, etc., have increased the incidence of landslides related disasters