Landslides Triggered by Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan

Landslides are general geomorphic erosion processes on hillslopes and can usually cause severe threats to human life and property due to their unexpected occurrence and fast traveling. Typhoon Morakot (in 2009) released more than 2000 mm rainfall during 6 days at the beginning of August 5 in Taiwan, leading to a large number of landslides, especially in southern Taiwan. Here we significantly devote this chapter to address the causes and effects of landslides in Cishan River watershed accompanied with the primary factors of landslide triggering such as the geologic and topographic settings and rainfall characteristics. We evaluate the devastation of landslides caused by Typhoon Morakot and its aftermath, and also assess the present status of landslide hazards mitigation strategies in Taiwan