Landslides and hydro-climatic conditions in the hutná catchment area (Central Slovakia)

Abstract

This contribution presents preliminary results obtained by hydro-climatic analysis of the Hutná catchment area in Central Slovakia, where several landslide reactivations were recorded in last decades as a consequence of weather anomalies. The majority of these landslides reach the inhabited areas, thus continuously threatening individuals who live there. We have been focused on evaluation of hydro-climatic conditions that preceded the reactivation events to better understand relationships between precipitation, antecedent hydrological conditions of the catchment and initiation (or reactivation) of movements. Our analysis confirms that antecedent hydrological conditions can be crucial for failure initiation in slopes with thick colluvial deposits. While the rainy seasons following a long-lasting wet periods were responsible for failure initiations and/or landslide reactivations, only slight acceleration of creep movements were recorded after the rainy seasons (although exceptional and several moths long) following dry period. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.