The vulnerability of buildings to a large-scale debris flow and outburst flood hazard chain that occurred on 30 August 2020 in Ganluo, Southwest China

Abstract. In mountainous areas, damage caused by debris flows is often aggravated by subsequent dam-burst floods within the main river confluence zone. On 30 August 2020, a catastrophic disaster chain occurred at the confluence of the Heixiluo Gully and Niri River in Ganluo County, Southwest China, that consisted of a debris flow, the formation of a barrier lake and subsequent dam breach that flooded the community. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the damage to buildings resulting from the sequential occurrence of debris flow and dam-burst flood. The peak discharge of the debris flow in the gully mouth reached 1937 m³/s, and the change in the main river channel resulting from the dam-burst flood, which had a peak discharge of 2273 m³/s, resulted in a fourfold increase in the extent of flood inundation compared to an ordinary flood. Three hazard zones were established based on the building damage patterns: (I) primary debris flow burial; (II) secondary dam-burst flood inundation and (III) sequential debris flow burial and dam-burst inundation. Vulnerability curves were developed for Zone (II) and Zone (III) using impact pressures and inundation depths, and a vulnerability assessment chart is presented that contains the three damage categories. This research addresses a gap in the vulnerability assessments of debris flow hazard chains and can support in future disaster mitigation within confluence areas.