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The Calaiza landslide on the coast of Granada (Andalusia, Spain)

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Abstract

The Costa Tropical in Granada Province, in Southern Spain, was intensively developed during the 1980s and 90s. A complex of several residential communities was built on the eastern slope of the coastal Cerro Gordo hill (Almuñécar), on the pre-existing Calaiza landslide. This was not identified in the preliminary technical studies, thus giving rise to a set of incidents associated with this unforeseen unstable slope. To ensure sea views from all the houses, excavations and fillings were carried out, creating a stepped slope, on which the new foundations of structures and roads were located and subsequently damaged by an increasing number of cracks and deformations, leading to 42 houses becoming ruins in the period 2003–2016. Since 1990, annual and monthly rainfall has been variable in the area, and some rainfall peaks were eventually associated with damage proliferation, although more frequently damage was recorded during dry or low rainfall seasons, when water infiltrated from breaks in pipelines. This damage results from a combination of sliding and bad construction practices at increasing rates from dry to humid periods or during heavy rains. An overall perspective of the geotechnical and geomorphological features of the study area, the landslide reactivation, and its correlation with the damage evolution, as well as its legal consequences, is presented here.

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Acknowledgements

This research was developed with contracts by the Foundation of the University of Granada for External Services (FEUGR) and representatives of the residential communities of the urban complex for the period 2005–2010. It has also been supported by the Research Group RNM 121 of the Andalusian Research Planning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain

    J. Chacón, R. El Hamdouni, P. Fernández, C. Irigaray & J. Jiménez-Perálvarez

  2. Group of Environmental Researches, Geological Hazards and Terrain Engineering, RNM 121 Andalusian Research Planning, Seville, Spain

    J. Chacón, R. El Hamdouni, C. Irigaray, J. Jiménez-Perálvarez & J. A. Palenzuela

  3. Mining Engineering Department, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Preto, CEP 35400-000, Brazil

    P. Alameda-Hernández

  4. Bonsai Architects, 18001, Granada, Spain

    E. Chacón & L. Llopis

  5. Department of Cartographic, Geodetic and Photogrammetric Engineering, University of Jaén, 23071, Jaén, Spain

    J. Delgado, T. Fernández & J. M. Gómez-López

  6. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    J. Moya

  7. Department of Stratigraphy and Paleontology, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain

    F. Olóriz

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  1. J. Chacón
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  2. P. Alameda-Hernández
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  3. E. Chacón
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Correspondence to J. Chacón.

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Chacón, J., Alameda-Hernández, P., Chacón, E. et al. The Calaiza landslide on the coast of Granada (Andalusia, Spain). Bull Eng Geol Environ 78, 2107–2124 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-018-1246-1

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