Abstract Heavy rainfall in extreme climates often causes natural disasters such as floods, landslides, and debris flows. Rainfall-induced slope instabilities are major geological (Glade Environ Geol 35:160–174, 1998; Dai et al. Eng 51:279–290, 1999; Iverson Water Resour Res 36:1897–1910, 2000; Lee Pradhan Landslides 4:33–41, 2007; Li 13:1109–1123, 2016a; Ecol 91:477–486, 2016b; Wu Hydro-mechani...