Technical note on the 1992 Brunssummerheide landslide in Limburg, the Netherlands

P.M. Maurenbrecher; D.G. Price; W. Verwaal

P.M. Maurenbrecher Engineering Geology Section, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Mijnbouwstraat 120, 2628 RX Delft, the Netherlands
D.G. Price Engineering Geology Section, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Mijnbouwstraat 120, 2628 RX Delft, the Netherlands
W. Verwaal Engineering Geology Section, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Mijnbouwstraat 120, 2628 RX Delft, the Netherlands

Keywords: earthquake, susceptible deposits, liquefaction, site investigation, slope instability

Abstract

The 1992 Roermond earthquake caused two landslides in Brunssummerheide park, South Limburg, the Netherlands. The larger of the two slides is within the area of a large slide which happened in 1955. This area consists of loose, reworked, uniformly graded, fine quartz sands in overall gently sloping ground with a gradient of 1 in 5. At the foot of the slope the ground is wooded and approximately level, with groundwater almost at the surface. The severe and varied tilting of the trees in this area indicates horizontal movement and upward bulging of the soil. High water tables persist and springs in the area are the source of the Roode Beek, a tributary of the Maas River. Swampy and even quicksand conditions exist. The smaller landslide also occurred in a slope with a swampy area at its foot. Other slopes not associated with swampy areas were not affected by the earthquake. The association of loose, reworked and water-saturated sands with slope failure suggests that the slope failures may have taken place by liquefaction of these sands removing support from the toe of the slope. This paper presents a description of the failed slope; a detailed discussion of the probable cause of failure awaits further research.