Asian Network on Debris flow........Newsletter no. 2

1. ASIAN NETWORK ON DEBRIS FLOW (ANDF)
NEWSLETTER
No. 2 – December 2011
Compiled and sent out by editor Aaron Guo
and co-editors Kaesorn Jumpa and Winai Wangpimool
Please send your contributions/ information for next issue(s) of ANDF Newsletter
to mhsp@imde.ac.cn & sblong2003@yahoo.com.cn.
Tick Tock
By Joanna Fuchs
I’m writing this in a state of shock,
Watching the clock—tick tock, tick tock,
Advancing, approaching, relentlessly,
A brand new year; Oh, can it be?
The calendar says the same thing, too;
Time races, vanishes for me; Boo hoo!
No, wait! If time flies, I’m having fun!
A year of fun! It’s gone! It’s done!
New year, same goal - Joe King I now embrace the blur of time,
Because it simply means that I’m
Let our New Year's resolution be this: we Too busy with pleasure, joy, delight
will be there for one another as fellow To mourn the passing days’ swift flight.
members of humanity, in the finest
So I’m wishing you fast, happy days,
sense of the word. - Göran Persson
Pleasuring you in myriad ways,
You are invited to the festival of this Filled with happiness and cheer,
world and your life is blessed.- Vern Oh Happy, Happy Bright New Year!
McLellan
This issue:
What the New Year brings to you will
depend a great deal on what you bring New Year Rhymes…p.1
to the New Year. - Rabindranath Tagore Work Report - A Summary…p.2
A Notice of 2012 International Debris Flow
In our work and in our living, we must Workshop…p.3
recognize that difference is a reason for Academic activities in 2011 and 2012…p.4
celebration and growth, rather than a Flood in Thailand and Mudflow in Kashmir...p.5
reason for destruction. - Audre Lorde Hazard Events in Asia…p.6
Debris Flow Control System Introduction…p.7

2. Work Statement — A Summary
Work Report — A Summary
The ANDF shall be a non-governmental, non-political, non-profit institution at all times,
free from racial, gender, or national prejudice. The objectives of the ANDF shall be:
To strengthen the exchange and cooperation between debris flow scientists in Asia
To disseminate the scientific knowledge of debris flow in Asia
To promote the debris flow research and hazards mitigation technology in Asia
What we have done - A report The preparation group established in 2010
will continue to work with the secretariat to
The 2012 International Debris Flow serve as a catalyst to bring together a wide
Workshop, August 11-12, 2012, is under range of private entities into a regional
smooth preparing. partnership for action. The partnership will
encompass private business, both large and
The 8th Seminar on Mountain Disasters and small, multi-regional and local organizations. It
Environmental Protection across Taiwan aims to improve the debris flow knowledge, to
strait and actives for Celebrating the 15th advance monitoring and control of
Anniversary of DPRC, NCKU, Taiwan, China debris flow hazards.
were held to strengthen the communication
and exchange in Asia.
We helped announce the 5th International
C o n f e r e n c e on Debris-Flow Hazards
Mitigation: Mechanics, Prediction and
Assessment June 14-17, 2011 University of
Padua, Italy; more than 20 ANDF members
attended the conference.
We published newsletters in this June and
December. The manuscripts submitted for
the 2010 International Debris Flow Workshop
were peer reviewed and published on the Mission of ANDF
Journal of Mountain Sciences (Volume 8 To promote Asian cooperation, ANDF may:
Number 4, 2011). Organize international seminars,
We publicized ANDF and got support from workshops and conferences;
more than 80 scientists in Asia. Furthermore, Promote research and technical training
a cooperative relationship with ICIMOD, programmes;
WASER, WASWAC, and other global and Publish newsletters and other
local organizations has been built. publications;
Meanwhile, ANDF members gave advice to Collaborate with other organizations with
the government, and contributed to the similar objectives; and
national hazards mitigation in each country. Others

3. 2012 International Debris Flow Workshop,
August 11-12, 2012 - A Notice
Introduction
2012 International Debris Flow
Workshop will be held in Chengdu, on 11-
12 August 2012. The workshop will provide
a forum for debris-flow researchers to
exchange ideas on how to cope with debris-
flow hazards using the most advanced,
state-of-the-art methodologies in mechanics
as well as in hazard prediction and risk
assessment. How to strengthen the
international cooperation of debris-flow
research and mitigation is the other focus of
this workshop.
Topic of this workshop
This is the second International Debris
Flow Workshop, with the first one that took All abstracts and reports submitted to the
place in 2010 in Chengdu. This series of workshop are expected to address timely
workshop will be held every two years. issues on disaster caused by debris flows,
debris avalanches, mudflows, lahars, hyper
Manuscripts concentrated flows, debris floods, and the
like. How to strengthen the international
Authors can send their manuscripts to
cooperation of debris-flow research and
the secretariat before 31 May 2012. The
mitigation is another focus of this workshop.
manuscripts in accord with the workshop
Topics of interest in technical sessions
topics will be recommended to Journal of
Mountain Sciences (SCI expanded), include, but are not limited to:
International Journal of Sediment Research 1. Formation mechanics of debris flows
(SCI expanded), and Frontiers of Earth 2. Numerical modeling of debris flow
Science in China. The peer-review and final 3. Debris-flow experiments
decision will be conducted by related 4. Assessment of debris-flow hazards and
editorial office independently. risk
5. Flied observations and measurements of
debris flows
6. Debris-flow monitoring and alert systems
7. Structural and non-structural debris-flow
countermeasures
8. Relationship between debris flow, human
activity and eco-environment
9. International cooperation mechanism of
debris-flow research and mitigation.

4. Academic Activities in 2011 and 2012
Conferences/Meetings/Workshops
in 2011
CL-CGS Seminar on Geo-hazards February 20-
25, 2011, Xi`an, China
The 14th Asian Regional Conference on Soil
Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, May
23-27, 2011, Hong Kong, China
The 5th International Conference on Debris-Flow
Hazards Mitigation, June 14-17, 2011, University
of Padua, Italy
Upcoming: The 8th Seminar on Mountain Disasters and
Environmental Protection across Taiwan strait,
Academic Activities in 2012 July 27-30, 2011, Urumqi, China
International Symposium on Sediment Disasters
Interpraevent 2012 – 12th Congress, April under the Influence of Climate Change and
23-26, 2012, Grenoble, France Tectonic Activity (2nd), September 15-16,
2011, Hokkaido University, Japan
2012 International Debris Flow Workshop,
5th International Conference on Flood
August 11-12, 2012, Chengdu, China Management (ICFM5), September 27-29, 2011,
International Symposium on Earthquake- Tokyo, Japan
induced Landslides, November 7-9, 2012, G 1 ： T he 2n d I n t e r national Workshop on
Kiryu, Japan Multimodal Sediment Disaster – Asian Cloud
Network on Disaster Research
2nd International Conference on G2：2011 International Symposium on Natural
Disaster Prevention – Coping with Extreme Flood
Mountain Environment and Development,
and Sediment-related Disasters
ICMED, Chengdu, October 15-19, 2012, G3：The 7th Taiwan-Japan Joint Seminar on
Chengdu, China Natural Hazard Mitigation in 2011 – Typhoon
MORAKO & 311Earthquake in Japan
—— Actives for Celebrating a 15th Anniversary
of DPRC, NCKU, Taiwan, China

5. Debris-Flow Hazard Events in Asia in 2010 and 2011
By 19 September 2010, at least 63 people had been killed from flooding and landslides in
northern India.
Typhoon Megi triggered deadly Taiwan landslides, killing three people and leaving six
more missing on 23 October, 2010.
The Low Pressure Area (LPA) which prevailed since January 31, 2011 to February 4,
2011 brought widespread rains over Visayas and Mindanao and landslides in some places
in Philippines, over 20 people were dead, 66 were injured.
At least three people had been killed and 21 more were missing after a landslide struck
homes and destroyed mining tunnels in Philippines on 22, April, 2011.
16 people were buried by the Malaysia Orphanage Landslide in on 21, May, 2011.
At least 15 people were killed on 1 July 2011 after hours of steady downpours triggered a
mudslide at Batali Hill in Chittagong, in southeastern Bangladesh.
Landslides and debris flow triggered by monsoon rains on 15, July, 2011 in Nepal, killed
six people, and buried 10 others.
The landslide caused by torrential rain crashed into a South Korean mountain resort east
of Seoul early on 27 July 2011, destroying four buildings and killing at least six people.
Typhoon Muifa affected in Regions I, III, IV-A, VI and NCR of Philippines, causing floods
and landslides. By 28, July, 2011, 84 people died and 53 were injured, thousands of
houses were damaged and more than one million people were affected.
The village in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan was hit by mud flood on 30 July 2011, 466 dead,
756 injured and resultantly 129 households got completely destroyed.
Mud flow hit Leh, Kashmir on 6th August, 2011. At least 193 died and 200 people were
reported missing and thousands more were rendered homeless.
Seven were killed in a landslide in Cameron Highlands, Pahang State, Malaysia on 7
August 2011.
At least five people were killed and 30 others were missing because of a
landslide triggered by heavy rain on the Indonesian Island of Nias on 30 November 2011.
Thailand's devastating flood had caused floods in 15 provinces. It affected over one
million people and caused more than 700 death.
Typhoon Washi (Sendong), with winds gusting up to 90km/h (56 mph), hit Philippines,
late on 16 December, brought heavy rain. More than 1700 people were killed.
… ….

6. Largest Flood in Thailand Since 1942
We all remember the catastrophic in Pakistan in
2010. Some places in South Asia and Southeast
Asia are badly affected by the over flooding of the
rivers during the monsoon every year.
Since 25 July 2011, the impact of Tropical Storm
Nock-Ten, and heavy monsoon had triggered
heavy rainfall over Thailand, caused floods,
storms, landslides.
Donmueang
Flooded areas covered 56 of 77 provinces of Airport was flood
the country, affecting more than 4 million to circa 1 m or
p e o p l e , b o t h d i r e c t l y a n d ind ir ect l y . more. The cost of
Communication and transportation were renovation alone is
totally ruined, the agriculture and water approx. US$300M.
supply were badly affected. Total fatalities
were 823 deaths and 3 missing, with a total
damage of up to US$45 billion. (31 Dec ’11)
Thailand may have to suffer the disaster such Thai residents
as floods and landslides again and again in make their way
the coming years since it is only at the very through flooded
beginning of the era when the effect from the streets in Pathum
climate change has come to affect Thani & Bangkok.
humans rather hardly and quickly.
Catastrophic Mud Flow in Kashmir
Leh, the largest town in Ladakh region of
Jammu and Kashmir is on a plateau at around
3,500 meters above the mean sea level. This
area is a 'high altitude cold desert' that
sparsely receives rainfall (in the month of
August the average rainfall is about 15.4 mm)
and heavy downpour, in particular, is a rare
occurrence. The highest rainfall ever recorded
during 24 hours period has been 51.3 mm on
22 August 1933.
A cloudburst occurred on 6th August 2010 and was followed by heavy downpour for just one and
one-half hours leading to flash flood and mud slides over the region. Many buildings were
destroyed including hospitals and bus terminals. All communication systems including radio station
transmitter, telephone exchange and mobile-phone towers were fully destroyed. The village of
Choglamsar on the outskirts of Leh was badly affected.
At least 193 people (including 5 foreign tourists) were reported to have died. Two hundred people
were reportedly missing and thousands more were rendered homeless.

7. Debris Flow Control System Introduction
A Debris Flow Control System
contains geotechnical and/or
ecological engineering measures, and
monitoring and/or alarming measures.
It should be built based on the
practical situation of the debris flow
watershed including fundamental
characteristics, the occurrence
conditions, activity patterns,
developing trend, hazard level of
debris flows, and the corresponding
geological hazards, terrain conditions,
with the aims of controlling debris
flows and/or reducing their hazards,
repairing and/or improving the
ecological environment of the
watershed.
The geotechnical engineering is the
most effective measure to control
debris flows. It should contains the
stabilization works (check dams), the
barrier facilities (sand-sediment dams)
and the guide projects (drainage
canals).

8. We would like to thank all of our supporters and workshop participants
for making this network under smooth preparation. We hope this
organization will contribute substantially in Asian Debris Flow study area!
December 2011
Upcoming Events/Important Tips
Planning for Second International Debris Flow Workshop in 11-12, August 2012 in
Chengdu, China and the formal establishment of the Asian Network on Debris Flow is
undergoing. Topics, agendas, ideas and network operation suggestions are welcome.
Please send your contribution to the Secretariat.
Manuscripts are welcomed to send to the secretariat before 31st May, 2012. The
Manuscripts in accord with the workshop topics will be recommended to Journal of
Mountain Sciences (SCI expanded), International Journal of Sediment Research (SCI
expanded), and Frontiers of Earth Science in China.
We also welcome the information about local natural hazards, new study progress,
results and technology.
NOTES
Δ ANDF Newsletter is a biannual publication of the Asian Network on Debris Flow (DF) dedicated
to the study of its nature and how to avoid its effect and dissemination of DF knowledge widely.
It welcomes articles related to every aspect of debris flow from countries in Asia as well as other
continents. Scientists interested in Debris Flow are invited/encouraged to send your articles to
Aaron Guo at mhsp@imde.ac.cn.
Δ ANDF Newsletter is a FREE digital/online newsletter. Anyone interested in obtaining it may
subscribe to Aaron Guo with your name, address, profession, institution and nationality. Kindly
inform your colleagues about this newsletter and invite them to contribute articles and subscribe.
Newsletter Editor: Aaron Guo Chair of ANDF Preparatory Group: Chack-Fan Lee
Co-editors: Rongzhi Tan, Kaesorn Advisor: Samran Sombatpanit
Jumpa and Winai Wangpimool Secretary-general: Peng Cui
Graphic: IMHE, Chengdu, China & Secretary: Aaron Guo （Guo Xiaojun）
Address: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment,
LDD-DWR, Bangkok, Thailand CAS, #9, Block 4, Renminnanlu Rd., Chengdu, P.R.China
E-mail: mhsp@imde.ac.cn