Pingwu County, located in the north of Sichuan Province, China, was severely affected by the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008. The county is part of the Fujiang river basin, and a large number of earthquake-induced geological hazards have developed in the area since the earthquake. Post-earthquake reconstruction in key towns and regional development is important and requires a scientific evaluation of the geological environment’s carrying capacity. In this study, geographic information system (GIS) - analytic hierarchy process (AHP) coupled analysis method is used to combine the post-earthquake geological environment background, disaster point distribution, and social development in the area to construct an evaluation system of geological environment carrying capacity based on ten evaluation indicator layers of geological environment, ecological environment and social environment. The weight of each evaluation indicator is calculated using the AHP analysis method, and the carrying capacity of the geological environment in Pingwu County for each GIS grid is calculated, thereby obtaining a division map for carrying capacity. The results of the evaluation show that the geological environment carrying capacity of the Pingwu County is balanced (critical overload) and surplus (not overloaded). Further, no overload condition is present, and the distribution of loading is related to human construction. In general, the carrying capacity of an area is low in areas with a high degree of construction and other related activities. Based on the evaluation results of the carrying capacity of the geological environment, this study provides suggestions for optimizing the construction of the central area of Pingwu County, controlling the scale of regional construction, maintaining the original nature of ecological species in the natural reserve area and prohibiting development and transformation, and providing a clear direction of development for the post-earthquake development planning of this area.

Climate disasters have become increasingly frequent in India, severely affecting the railway infrastructure every year. Physical damages to railway tracks, bridges, and signaling systems, caused by floods, cyclones, and landslides, are well documented. However, the impact of these disasters on the railway infrastructure was beyond direct physical damages. This paper aimed to explore the impact of climate disasters on railway infrastructure in Northeast India using case study approach. Three cases were studied to analyse the impact of climate disasters on railway infrastructure, including geological disasters and extreme weather. Infrastructure development and operation of railway transport system in Assam, Mizoram, and Manipur proved to be challenging, especially when coping with natural disasters, such as floods, landslides, and earthquakes. This paper found that disruption of railway services was associated with geo-physical structure of the region, which triggered the disaster vulnerability. The results showed that climate disasters had a significant impact on railway infrastructure in Northeast India in many aspects. Formulation and implementation of strategic policies might reduce the disaster risks. Therefore, policymakers and Ministry of Railways, Government of India should consider this possible probability approach over environmental determinism.

In order to investigate the development process of crack formation in shallow-buried sandstone tunnel, biaxial compression tests were conducted on a similar model of the real straight-walled arched sandstone tunnel. The results indicate that the initial crack appeared at the arch line on both sides of the tunnel and propagated downwards, eventually leading to spalling of the rock mass on the surface of the tunnel, forming a V-shaped groove. Additionally, slab cracks were observed in the straight wall on the right side of the tunnel, which were approximately parallel to the vertical load. The failure characteristics of the tunnel were closely related to the fractal dimension of the crack geometry distribution. During the tunnel compaction and elastic deformation stage, the fractal dimension of the cracks in the tunnel surface increased linearly, while during the crack propagation stage, the fractal dimension increased gradually, with a sudden increase occurring just before the rock mass reached its peak load. The acoustic emission results revealed that AE ringing counts and amplitude were inactive during the first 4239 seconds of the test. And they only increased during the crack propagation stage. The continuous decrease of the b-value and the sudden increase of the fractal dimension of cracks can serve as a reliable precursor of tunnel failure.