Landslide at km 56.4 along the Irbid-Amman Highway, Northern Jordan

Abstract

During the last 30 years, the northern part of Jordan has been affected by many landslides. In 1992, which was a very wet year, 67 landslides of different volumes occurred. These mainly affected the Late Cretaceous Naur Group, which is well known for being prone to slope movements of many types and sizes. This article describes the Jueidya slide which occurred on the night of 13 August 1992 after a very wet winter at Jueidya village, at station km 56.4 along the under‐construction highway between Irbid and Amman. This landslide affected ∼250 m of the highway, destroying two houses, causing the evacuation of 10 others, and delaying the opening of the highway for several months. The bedrock of the study area consists of Late Cretaceous marl, limestone, and dolomite of Cenomanian age. These rocks are overlain by younger colluvium, essentially loose materials detached from the bedrock masses by chemical, mechanical, and/or tectonic processes. In addition, the area is partially covered by caliche. Monitoring during the last five years has indicated that the slope is still active, and that the present location of the highway in this portion will continue to be affected by future sliding. This article presents geological and geotechnical studies of the slide area with special emphasis on the geostructures that affect slope stability. A stability analysis for this solution is given, and a comparison between the present as‐built road and the recommended solution is also presented.

Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based Digital Imaging System to Derive a 3D Point Cloud for Landslide Scarp Recognition

“…Substantial first failure activity in the area dates back to August 1992 during the construction of the Irbid-Amman highway. This landslide affected approximately 250 m of the highway, destroyed two houses, caused the evacuation of 10 others, and delayed the opening of the highway for several months [71]. as, soil erosion [59,60], landslides or rocky surfaces inventory [56,61], landslide detection [62], landslide dynamics and monitoring [57,[63][64][65][66][67], and natural disaster monitoring and evaluation [68,69].…”

“…The study area is dominated by two significant landslide features, which are known as the Al-Juaidieh slides. Abderahman [71] determined that the Al-Juaidieh landslide was a reactivation of an old landslide. Various field observations across the slope body and deformation along the highway and existing gabions indicate that the slope is still active and scarp features across the slope will continue to open and develop new tension crack features; leading to further drift of rocks downward.…”

“…Substantial first failure activity in the area dates back to August 1992 during the construction of the Irbid-Amman highway. This landslide affected approximately 250 m of the highway, destroyed two houses, caused the evacuation of 10 others, and delayed the opening of the highway for several months [71]. …”

“…From bottom to top, these formations are the Na'ur, Fuheis, Hummar, Shu'ayb, and Wadi Es-Sir. The Na'ur limestone formation forms the majority of the outcrops in the study area, which starts with a few meters of a very hard limestone overlain by a medium-hard to somewhat medium-marly limestone, soft marl, very hard dolomitic limestone, soft marl, and intermixed gravel and boulders of limestone and marl at the surface [71]. The Hummar formation forms outcrops of a few meters of marly limestone followed by successive layers of medium-thick bedded grey to whitish crystalline limestone, dolomitic limestone, and dolomite that changes near the top to marly limestone [73].…”

Structural, geomorphological and geomechanical aspects of the Koyulhisar landslides in the North Anatolian Fault Zone (Sivas, Turkey)

“…The projection obtained implies that a number of significant pole concentrations are present, and indicates the range of strikes and dips of the joints as well as their mean directions. According to Hutchinson (1988) and Goodman (1989), the presence of fractures and joints, as well as their extensions, attitudes and intersections, all affect the stability of the slope in an area because they form pre-existing surfaces along which sliding may take place (Abderahman 1998). The orientations of joints and slope face are represented as large circles.…”