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Journal ArticleDOI

Landslide hazard and risk zonation—why is it still so difficult?

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the problem of attempting to quantify landslide risk over larger areas, discussing a number of difficulties related to the generation of landslide inventory maps including information on date, type and volume of the landslide, the determination of its spatial and temporal probability, the modelling of runout and the assessment of landslide vulnerability.
Abstract: The quantification of risk has gained importance in many disciplines, including landslide studies. The literature on landslide risk assessment illustrates the developments which have taken place in the last decade and that quantitative risk assessment is feasible for geotechnical engineering on a site investigation scale and the evaluation of linear features (e.g., pipelines, roads). However, the generation of quantitative risk zonation maps for regulatory and development planning by local authorities still seems a step too far, especially at medium scales (1:10,000–1:50,000). This paper reviews the problem of attempting to quantify landslide risk over larger areas, discussing a number of difficulties related to the generation of landslide inventory maps including information on date, type and volume of the landslide, the determination of its spatial and temporal probability, the modelling of runout and the assessment of landslide vulnerability. An overview of recent developments in the different approaches to landslide hazard and risk zonation at medium scales is given. The paper concludes with a number of new advances and challenges for the future, such as the use of very detailed topographic data, the generation of event-based landslide inventory maps, the use of these maps in spatial-temporal probabilistic modelling and the use of land use and climatic change scenarios in deterministic modelling.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors outline the principles for landslide mapping, and review the conventional methods for the preparation of landslide maps, including geomorphological, event, seasonal, and multi-temporal inventories.

1,290 citations


Cites background from "Landslide hazard and risk zonation—..."

  • ...…step toward landslide susceptibility, hazard, and risk assessment (e.g., Cardinali et al., 2002b, 2006; Guzzetti et al., 2005, 2006a, 2006b; van Westen et al., 2006, 2008; Bălteanu et al., 2010), (iii) to investigate the distribution, types, and patterns of landslides in relation to…...

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  • ...…of the base maps, the scale, resolution and characteristics of the available imagery (e.g., aerial photographs, satellite images, LiDAR elevation data), the skills and experience of the investigators, and the resources available to complete the work (Guzzetti et al., 2000; van Westen et al., 2006)....

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  • ...As a result, inventory maps produced by different investigators can be difficult to compare (Roth, 1983; Carrara et al., 1992; Ardizzone et al., 2002; van Westen et al., 2006; Galli et al., 2008)....

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  • ...…in all continents, and even for parts of other planets (e.g., Quantin et al., 2004), the criteria for the production of landslide maps and for the evaluation of their quality remain poorly defined (Soeters and van Westen, 1996; Guzzetti et al., 2000; Guzzetti, 2006; van Westen et al., 2006, 2008)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented a study of the relationship between geotechnical engineering and geosciences and geophysics at the University of New South Wales and U.S. Geological Survey.

1,186 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a review of the trends in collecting spatial information on environmental factors with a focus on Digital Elevation Models, geology and soils, geomorphology, land use and elements at risk is given.

986 citations


Cites background from "Landslide hazard and risk zonation—..."

  • ...These can be subdivided into four groups: landslide inventory data, environmental factors, triggering factors, and elements at risk (Van Westen et al., 2005)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present recommended methodologies for the quantitative analysis of landslide hazard, vulnerability and risk at different spatial scales (site-specific, local, regional and national), as well as for the verification and validation of the results.
Abstract: This paper presents recommended methodologies for the quantitative analysis of landslide hazard, vulnerability and risk at different spatial scales (site-specific, local, regional and national), as well as for the verification and validation of the results. The methodologies described focus on the evaluation of the probabilities of occurrence of different landslide types with certain characteristics. Methods used to determine the spatial distribution of landslide intensity, the characterisation of the elements at risk, the assessment of the potential degree of damage and the quantification of the vulnerability of the elements at risk, and those used to perform the quantitative risk analysis are also described. The paper is intended for use by scientists and practising engineers, geologists and other landslide experts.

776 citations


Cites background or methods from "Landslide hazard and risk zonation—..."

  • ...An overview of potential landslide damage types, which are delineated according to landslide type, elements at risk and the location of the exposed element in relation to the landslide, is presented by Van Westen et al. (2005)....

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  • ...Figure 1, based on Van Westen et al. (2005), gives the framework of multi-hazard landslide risk assessment, with an indication of the various steps (A–...

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A short history of the appraisal of laser scanner technologies in geosciences used for imaging relief by high-resolution digital elevation models (HRDEMs) or 3D models is presented in this paper.
Abstract: This paper presents a short history of the appraisal of laser scanner technologies in geosciences used for imaging relief by high-resolution digital elevation models (HRDEMs) or 3D models. A general overview of light detection and ranging (LIDAR) techniques applied to landslides is given, followed by a review of different applications of LIDAR for landslide, rockfall and debris-flow. These applications are classified as: (1) Detection and characterization of mass movements; (2) Hazard assessment and susceptibility mapping; (3) Modelling; (4) Monitoring. This review emphasizes how LIDAR-derived HRDEMs can be used to investigate any type of landslides. It is clear that such HRDEMs are not yet a common tool for landslides investigations, but this technique has opened new domains of applications that still have to be developed.

740 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used geomorphological information to assess areas at high landslide hazard, and help mitigate the associated risk, and found that despite the operational and conceptual limitations, landslide hazard assessment may indeed constitute a suitable, cost-effective aid to land-use planning.

2,146 citations


"Landslide hazard and risk zonation—..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...Landslide risk approaches used Overviews and classification of GIS-based landslide hazard assessment methods can be found in Soeters and Van Westen (1996), Carrara et al. (1995, 1999), Guzzetti et al. (1999) Aleotti and Chowdury (1999) and Van Westen (2000)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For 11 days in February 2000, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) successfully recorded by interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data of the entire land mass of the earth between 60°N and 57°S.
Abstract: For 11 days in February 2000, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) successfully recorded by interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data of the entire land mass of the earth between 60°N and 57°S. The data acquired in C- and X-bands are processed into the first global digital elevation models (DEMs) at 1 arc sec resolution, by NASA-JPL and German aerospace center (DLR), respectively. From the perspective of the SRTM-X system, we give in this paper an overview of the mission and the DEM production, as well as an evaluation of the DEM product quality. Special emphasis is on challenges and peculiarities of the processing that arose from the unique design of the SRTM system, which has been the first single-pass interferometer in space.

1,686 citations


"Landslide hazard and risk zonation—..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...In addition, almost the entire world is now covered by a DEM with a spatial resolution of 30 m (outside of the US distributed at 90 m) from the NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) (Rabus et al. 2003), which serves as a good basis for landslide studies at regional scales....

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Book
08 Feb 1995
TL;DR: An introduction to GIS and tools for map analysis: map pairs, spatial data models, and more.
Abstract: Chapter headings. Introduction to GIS. Spatial data models. Spatial data structures. Spatial data input. Visualization and query of spatial data. Spatial data transformations. Tools for map analysis: single maps. Tools for map analysis: map pairs. Tools for map analysis: multiple maps.

1,640 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, rainfall intensities and durations associated with shallow landsliding and debris flow activity suggests a limiting threshold for this type of slope instability, and the limit is defined based on the rainfall intensity and duration.
Abstract: Published records of the rainfall intensities and durations associated with shallow landsliding and debris flow activity suggests a limiting threshold for this type of slope instability. The limit ...

1,515 citations

Book
01 Jan 1984
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors give the definitions and principles of landslides, and identify causative conditions and processes (inherent or basic conditions, geology, geomorphology, hydrologic conditions and climate, vegetation, factors that change stress conditions and strength of materials).
Abstract: Of all natural hazards, slope failures are the most amenable to measures directed towards avoidance, prevention or correction. The causes inherent in the terrain are relatively well understood, hence the possibility of approaching landslide hazard mitigation from an areal zonal point of view. This publication gives the definitions and principles of landslides, and identifies causative conditions and processes (inherent or basic conditions, geology, geomorphology, hydrologic conditions and climate, vegetation, factors that change stress conditions and strength of materials). Investigation planning is described, including preliminary studies, techniques for identifying unstable and potentially unstable areas, e.g., remote sensing and ground studies, and individual factor maps. For the analysis of data, primarily cartographical methods, numerical rating of contributing factors and numerical-cartographical methods are outlined. Mention is made of some governmental and private responses to slope stability hazards. A summary of operational precepts closes the report. (TRRL)

1,331 citations


"Landslide hazard and risk zonation—..." refers background or methods in this paper

  • ...One of the most useful definitions of risk is presented by Varnes (1984) as ‘‘the expected number of lives lost, persons injured, damage to property and disruption of economic activity due to a particular damaging phenomenon for a given area and reference period’’....

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  • ...Schematically, this can be represented by the following formula, based on Varnes (1984), Fell (1994), Leroi (1996) and Lee and Jones (2004): Risk = X H X ðVAÞ ð1Þ where: H Hazard expressed as probability of occurrence within a reference period (e.g., year, design period of a building)....

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