The landslide early warning system operational in Norway is managed, since 2013, by the NVE and has been designed for monitoring and forecasting the hydrometeorological conditions potentially triggering slope failures. Daily alerts are issued throughout the country considering variable size warning zones. The performance of the warnings issued is evaluated through the adapted EDuMaP method. Different performance results are observed as a function of the landslide density criterion use.

Channelized rock avalanches are a type of rock slope failures with massive flow-like movements of fragmented rock, which are potentially dangerous due to their strong mobility. This study built an empirical prediction model of travel distance using the Wenchuan earthquake dataset. The results suggest that the movement was dominated by the landslide volume, total relief and channel gradient. The model was tested by a separate dataset and proved to be useful in other regions as well.

This paper represents one of the main outcomes of a 3-year PhD program at the Earth Sciences Department of the University of Firenze (Centre of Competence of the Italian Civil Protection for geohazards). The main objectives of this paper were to investigate the landslide kinematics through the monitoring activity using GB-InSAR technology and to validate the stabilization works effectiveness using the coupled action of the GB-InSAR and the observational method (OM).

Atmospheric dispersal of a gas denser than air can threat the environment and surrounding communities. In complex terrains, microscale winds and local orographic features can have a strong influence on the gas cloud behavior, potentially leading to inaccurate model results if not captured by coarser-scale simulations. We introduce a methodology for microscale wind field characterization and validate it using, as a test case, the CO₂ gas dispersal from 1986 Lake Nyos eruption.

In this paper we present a new Arduino-based wire extensometer developed to provide a low-cost autonomous platform for continuous monitoring of landslides. The system integrates a data logger, a power system, a high-precision position transducer, and has multiple digital and analog inputs. Our field test indicates a high reliability of the measurement and high monitoring stability without visible thermal drift. The on-board temperature sensor might be used to correct/identify thermal drifting.

This article implements a combination of historical and geographical methods leading to the reconstruction in the Vosges Massif of more than 700 avalanches that have occurred since the late eighteenth century. Results confirm the role of the historian in contextualizing and evaluating such data and transforming them into information relevant for understanding risk changes. This approach is of great utility when conventional sources are sparse and problematic to assemble.

Tsunami and other water waves such as storm surges get amplified as they approach the coast due to shoaling. The underlying physics are guided by energy conservation, but there are several aspects of this phenomenon that are still active research topics. Resonance is one. As waves reflect from the coast, resonance can hinder the efficiency of the reflection by trapping some of the energy in the coastal region. We investigate this phenomenon by taking the bathymetry and bay shape into account.

Debris flows are naturally occuring mass motion events, which mobilize loose material in steep Alpine torrents. The destructive potential of debris flows is well known and demands early warning. Here we apply the amplitude source location (ASL) method to seismic ground vibrations induced by a debris flow event in Switzerland. The method efficiently detects the initiation of the event and traces its front propagation down the torrent channel.

Due to the small-scale and non-stationary nature of the convective wind gusts usually associated with thunderstorms, there is a considerable lack of knowledge regarding their characteristics and statistics. Thus, we investigated the temporal and spatial distribution, intensity, and return values of those wind events in Germany. The study constitutes a fundamental addition to an improved understanding of convective wind gusts and serves as basis for further risk assessments.

At catchment scale, it is challenging to provide the required input parameters for physically based slope stability models. In the present study, the parameterization of such a model is optimized against observed shallow landslides during two triggering rainfall events. With the resulting set of parameters the model reproduces the location and the triggering timing of most observed landslides. Based on that, potential effects of increasing precipitation intensity on slope stability are assessed.