ANALYSIS OF DEBRIS FLOWS TRIGGERED BY RAINFALLS IN NORTHERN ITALY

Debris flows are commonly triggered by an unusual presence of water. The sources of excess water can be: intense rainfall, rapid snowmelt and more rarely glacier or lake overflows which mobilise unconsolidated material in their path. Mechanisms of occurrence of debris flows can be summarised as follows: • static liquefaction of a landslide; • collapse of a natural dam; • increase in surface water flow on the gully bed Three types of debris flow occurred in Northern Italy are discussed. A set of flume experiments is in progress with the purpose to simulate the different mechanisms of occurrence of these debris flows