Human activities can increase landslide risks. They include clear-cutting, mining and quarrying, bad agricultural practices, and construction activities.

One of the most common anthropogenic causes of mass wasting is road construction, and this applies both to remote gravel roads built for forestry and mining and large urban and regional highways. Road construction is a potential problem for two reasons.

More on this later.

• Composition of Slope Material. Another factor that determines mass wasting is the slope’s material.
• Weight and Friction of Slope. A third factor that influences whether a slope will fail is the load or weight of that slope.
• Regional Climate Conditions.
• Water Content within Slopes.
• Gravity.

Landslides occur when masses of rock, earth, or debris move down a slope. Mudslides develop when water rapidly accumulates in the ground and results in a surge of water-saturated rock, earth, and debris. Mudslides usually start on steep slopes and can be activated by natural disasters.

These mass movements are sometimes associated with other disasters such as earthquakes, floods, thunderstorms, heavy rainstorm, etc. Mass movements also associated with manmade hazards like construction roads, buildings, structures, infrastructure facilities, etc.

Water from rainfall and runoff seeps into the ground, filling spaces between particles of soil and rock. As the water expands, it lifts up the soil and rock particles. They rise perpendicular to the slope of the hill. When the ground thaws, the force of gravity causes the soil and rock particles to fall back down.