Abstract

SEQUEIRA-ARGUEDAS, Jose María. Slope instability context in the National Route 613 in 2020, Coto Brus, Costa Rica. Infraestructura Vial [online]. 2023, vol.25, n.44, pp.93-107. ISSN 2215-3705.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/iv.v25i44.54752.

In this regional investigation, it is characterized the slope instability along the 613 National Road corridor located in Coto Brus county in Costa Rica, triggered by intense precipitation rates between November the 1st and the 6th related to Eta’s hurricane pathway. By stablishing the geological, geomorphological and hydroclimatic context, besides field annotations, landslides map inventory and geospatial terrain inputs, it is proposed a priori road zonation in stable and landslide prone sections of the mountain corridor (considering landslide occurrence, slope, and slope height). From landslides map inventory, hydrological sub-basin analysis, geological setting and MH soil-type predominance derived from volcaniclastic deposits allows to determine moderate to high terrain dissection and at least 24 % of the road corridor is prone to slope instability with a clear influence of geological tectonic features. In addition, there are hydroclimatic and hydrometeorological features (long and short period modulators, respectively) that could trigger hillslope instability along the road corridor in the near future, by the development of extreme precipitation events every rainy season on Costa Rica’s southern Pacific, without excluding possible superficial seismic rupture scenarios at one of the five active fault traces that crosses the road corridor. This study contributes to future geological hazard and risk assessments, as a base study of the environmental conditions that moderate geodynamic processes at the road corridor.

Keywords : landslides; geology; precipitation; hurricane Eta; road zoning..

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