Study and Assessment of Ground Failures and Landslides Along the Mountain Roads in the Al-Hamra and Al-Labib Areas of the Western Mountain, Libya

الملخص

Landslides are among the common engineering problems, particularly in mountainous slopes and mountain roads. These natural hazards may cause significant material losses and, in some cases, human casualties due to the damage and erosion of roads, as well as the destruction and displacement of civil structures located near the affected areas. This study was conducted on the roads leading down the mountain in the Al-Hamra and Al-Labib areas of the Western Mountain (Jabal Al-Gharbi), with the aim of identifying the types of landslides and slope failures occurring in the study areas, determining the factors responsible for their occurrence, and identifying the types of forces acting on areas susceptible to landslides. In addition, nine rock samples were collected from the study areas to determine some of the petrophysical properties of the rocks, including porosity and permeability.
    The results obtained revealed the occurrence of several types of landslides and slope failures in both study areas, including flow, slide, rock fall, and subsidence. The results also indicated that these phenomena mainly occur within rock formations characterized by high porosity and permeability values, with porosity exceeding 90% in all samples collected from the two study areas. These findings indicate a clear relationship between the petrophysical properties of the rocks and the susceptibility of the studied areas to landslides and slope failures.