Landslides are part of the natural processes of Earth’s surface dynamic, which could be accelerated or triggered by anthropic interference. Inadequate occupation of areas highly susceptible to landslide processes is the principal cause of accidents on Brazilian urban slopes, especially those occupied by settlements and slums. In Natal, Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil, the existence of areas with steep and densely occupied slopes makes the municipality susceptible to landslides. In this context, the present study aimed to map the risk of landslides in an urban area located in the city of Natal. Using the quali-quantitative model proposed by Faria (2011), adapted for the conditions of the study area, which applies a multicriteria analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to a Geographic Information System (GIS), 11 risk indicators were submitted to pairwise comparisons by 10 risk management specialists in order to determine the relative importance (weighting) for each of these factors as a function of their contribution to the risk. The weightings obtained were combined to produce the final risk map of the study area, using a map algebra framework. The results show the existence of a critical risk for the resident population, primarily related to the possibility of a landslide, with potentially negative economic, environmental, and mainly social impacts.
Despite being natural processes of the Earth’s surface dynamics, mass movements can be accelerated or sparked by human interference. Human activities such as developments in highly susceptible mass movements areas have been the main cause of accidents linked to landslides in Brazilian urban hillsides. In Natal - RN, the existence of areas with high declivity combined with inappropriate human occupation has been making the city vulnerable to stability problems of slopes. In this context, this work aimed to map the risk and analyze situations of hazard, vulnerability, and risk of incidence of mass movements present in São José do Jacó community, in Rocas neighborhood, Natal/RN. In order to map the risk, the methodology proposed by [1] was applied and adjusted to the characteristics of the study area. The mapping results showed that São José do Jacó presented a high degree of risk, ranging from high to very high. The analysis of hazard, vulnerability and risk has made possible to observe the factors that triggers mass movements in the area, among which: steep slopes, disordered cut slopes, dense occupation, inefficient drainage system, septic tanks and cesspools on the edge or in the middle of the talus and low/medium vegetation cover can be identified. The detailed research of the hazard, vulnerability and risk situations found in São José do Jacó community has enabled a better understanding of the area’s aspects, which lead to the obtention of high degree of risk.
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