SLOPE STABILITY ANALYSIS IN HARD ROCKS AND PREDICTION OF LANDSLIDE ALONG KHEWRA CHOHA SAIDDEN SHAH ROAD, SALT RANGE PAKISTAN

Landslides and slope failure in hard rocks are different compared to soft geological formations. A number of failures in hard rocks such as plane failure, wedge failure and toppling take place depending on the geology and tectonic setup of the area. Often the controlling factors are determined with scan line methodology and physical characterization of rock types. Limestone formation outcropped in the form of vertical cliff along Khewra-Choha Saidden Shah road has been analyzed with respect to its slope stability and to find out the probable mode of failure. The results indicate that in the study area there is threat of failure of vertical cliffs through toppling and the predicted direction of the failure is from north east to south west. Estimate based on physical inspection shows that probable landslide can cause severe damage and blockage of the road. It is suggested that few outer vertical blocks posing high risk should be removed through controlled blasting to avoid the expected failure otherwise which may cause a great hazard