Living with Landslide Risk

Abstract

Landslides represent a major threat to human life, property and constructed facilities, infrastructure and the environment in most mountainous and hilly regions of the world. Statistics from the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) show that landslides are responsible for at least 17% of all fatalities from natural hazards worldwide. The socio-economic impact of landslides is underestimated because landslides are usually not separated from other natural hazard triggers, such as extreme precipitation, earthquakes or floods. Many lives could have been saved if more had been known about the risks and risk mitigation measures had been implemented. The paper summarizes key aspects in the assessment of geological hazard and risk and exemplifies these with the risk associated with landslides and use appropriate risk mitigation strategies. Reducing the impact of landslide with mitigation measures is both an economical and social necessity.