Forensic investigation of flowslides triggered by the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake

The Sulawesi earthquake with a moment magnitude of Mw 7.5 struck the Central Sulawesi region of the Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, on September 28, 2018. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the mountainous region of Donggala Regency, in the neck of the Minahasa Peninsula in the Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. Although the epicenter was located in Donggala Regency, the greatest devastating effects were observed about 70 km south of the epicenter in the Palu Valley. The event was the first of its kind to cause large-scale flowslides simultaneously at four key locations such as Balaroa, Petobo, Jono Oge, and Sibalaya with extensive ground displacements ranging from several hundred meters to more than 1 km. This article reviews the field observations of geotechnical failures and infrastructure damage caused by liquefaction resulting from the shallow strike-slip earthquake at Palu City, Donggala Regency, and Sigi Regency. A geo-spatial analysis was performed on data collected from aerial drone imagery, along with portable dynamic cone penetration testing (PDCPT) in the field. The investigation revealed a highly stratified ground with alternating soil layers of varying permeability and very low bearing resistance at shallow depths. The investigation also helped in assessing the extent of damage caused by geotechnical failure to the residential infrastructures, irrigation structures, and roads. Graphical Abstract

Hydrodynamics of Palu Bay during the Event of 2018 Palu Earthquake and Tsunami

The devastation of coastal area in Palu Bay few minutes after the September 28th, 2018 Sulawesi earthquake showed high variation of tsunami arrival time as well as the tsunami run-up and inundation. Recent findings showed that both local submarine landslides and the normal-slip components inside the Palu Bay may contribute to the generation of tsunami. However, the fact that the event occurred during high tide, the hydrodynamic characteristics of this narrow bay and their role in the dynamics of the generated of tsunami were unknown. Hydrodynamics simulation (Mike21-flow model) using the latest available bathymetry field data (the 2018 deep water of the Indonesian navy data and 2015 shallow water of the BIG data) was conducted to investigate the variation of sea levels and tidal currents within the bay during the event of earthquake and tsunami or within the first 8 minutes timeframe. Results showed that significant increase of water elevation up to 6 cm and current velocity up to 1 cm/s directed towards the city of Palu were observed that may contribute to the dynamics of the tsunami e.g. the speed of tsunami arrival time and the transformation of tsunami. Therefore, considering that multiple tsunami arrivals were in few minutes after the earthquakes, the hydrodynamics of Palu Bay during the event should also be considered in future tsunami simulation scenarios.