Susceptibility to Translational Landslides in Ecuador Caused by Changes in Electrical Permittivity of Andepts Soils Using Software-Defined Radar for Detection

Landslides are widespread and global geological disasters, affecting millions of people and causing numerous deaths each year. Despite technological advances, it is still difficult to accurately prevent landslides. Due to its geography and climatic conditions, Ecuador has been significantly affected by landslides, and the city of Penipe remains one of the most affected. For this reason, a low-cost SDRadar system was designed to detect translational landslide risk levels by measuring the electrical permittivity of Andepts subtype soils. Controlled laboratory tests were performed with soil samples to relate permittivity values to landslide risk levels, and subsequently field tests were carried out in Penipe to determine the efficiency of the methodology. The results showed that moderate humidity is important for soil compaction, regardless of the degree of sloping. However, with permittivity values lower than 1.5 or higher than 20, the risk of landslides is very high on slopes greater than 45°. These results were compared with records of the serious landslides that occurred in June 2024 in Ecuador, in which rainfall intensity values similar to those obtained in this study were recorded, suggesting that this system can prevent future disasters.