Impact of event landslides on road networks: a statistical analysis of two Italian case studies

Abstract

Despite abundant information on landslides, and on landslide hazard and risk, in Italy, little is known on the direct impact of event landslides on road networks and on the related economic costs. We investigated the physical and economic damage caused by two rainfall-induced landslide events in Central and Southern Italy, to obtain road restoration cost statistics. Using a GIS-based method, we exploited road maps and landslide event inventory maps to compute different metrics that quantify the impact of the landslide events on the natural landscape and on the road networks, by road type. The maps were used with cost data obtained from multiple sources, including local authorities, and specific legislation, to evaluate statistically the unit cost per metre of damaged road and the unit cost per square metre of damaging landslide, separately for main and secondary roads. The obtained unit costs showed large variations which we attribute to the different road types in the two study areas and to the different abundance of landslides. Our work confirms the long-standing conundrum of obtaining accurate landslide damage data and outlines the need for reliable, standardized methods to evaluate landslide damage and associated restoration costs that regional and local administrations can use rapidly in the aftermath of a landslide event. We conclude recommending that common standardized procedures to collect landslide cost data following each landslide event are established, in Italy and elsewhere. This will allow for more accurate and reliable evaluations of the economic costs of landslide events.

On the nexus between landslide susceptibility and transport infrastructure – an agent-based approach

“…Apart from an impairment of roads -which results in maintenance and reconstruction efforts to be carried out by road operators (cf. Donnini et al, 2017) -secondary effects such as intangible and indirect costs of damage to infrastructure networks have to be considered in a broader economic context and lead to considerable vulnerability of societies affected (Klose et al, 2015;Pfurtscheller and Thieken, 2013;Meyer et al, 2013;Fuchs et al, 2011;Fuchs, 2009). Consequently the assessment of transport network systems has gained relevance in academia as well as the policy agenda of authorities across all scales (Pant et al, 2018;Unterrader et al, 2018;Bíl et al, 2017;Pregnolato et al, 2017;Winter et al, 2016;Rupi et al, 2015;Jenelius, 2009;Taylor et al, 2006;Zischg et al, 2005a, b;D'Este and Taylor, 2003;Berdica, 2002).…”

Landslide-inventory of the Cinque Terre National Park (Italy) and quantitative interaction with the trail network

“…Notoriously, the landslide occurrence can be controlled by several factors, which can be subdivided into predisposing and triggering factors. The former include intrinsic factors that make an area prone to slope instability such as slope (Dai, Lee, & Ngai, 2002;Guzzetti, Reichenbach, Ardizzone, Cardinali, & Galli, 2006), lithology (Duman et al, 2005;Chacón, Irigaray, Fernandez, & El Hamdouni, 2006), aspect (Calvello, Cascini, & Mastroianni, 2013;Guzzetti, 2005), land use (Cevasco, Pepe, & Brandolini, 2014;Glade, 2003;Matthews, Brunsden, Frenzel, Glaser, & Weiß, 1997;Van Beek & Van Asch, 2004), vegetation cover (Cammeraat, van Beek, & Kooijman, 2005;Gonzalez-Ollauri & Mickovski, 2017), distance from rivers and roads (Bordoni et al, 2018;Donnini et al, 2017). The latter are represented by factors that actually trigger the landslide such as intense or prolonged rainfall, earthquakes, rapid snow melting and human activities (Anderson & Holcombe, 2013;Corominas et al, 2014;Crosta, Agliardi, Frattini, & Sosoi, 2012).…”

A comparative analysis of the results of terrestrial laser scanning and numerical modelling for assessing the stability of a road embankment on the active landslide on the Just mountain at Tęgoborze at Just – Tęgoborze

“…Slip planes may be a useful non-invasive method of seismic interferometry [19]. Many scientists have assessed the threat to the infrastructure of landslides including [1,4,6,10,21].…”