The spatial–temporal dimensions of landslide disasters

Abstract

Disasters continue to be a major issue on the international agenda as human, economic, and environmental consequences have certainly increased in recent decades. According to the UNISDR (2012) global estimates indicate that since 1992 1.3 million casualties have occurred, in addition to 4.4 billion other people have been affected and there have been economic losses of US$2 trillion: for instance, 2.2 billion inhabitants in China were affected by disasters, economic losses in the USA reached US$560 billion, and in Haiti, one of the most vulnerable nations on the planet, 230 675 people were killed. The office of US Foreign Disaster (OFDA) disaster figures (EM-DAT database, http://www.emdat.be/database) bring to light the fact that, of the total events for the period 1900-2011 reported worldwide as disasters, 36.54% were floods, followed by storms (31.71%), earthquakes (10.95%), landslides (5.85%), droughts (5.63%), extreme temperature (3.93%), wildfires (3.31%), and volcanic eruptions (2.05%). Nonetheless, in spite of the number of events, consequences vary in terms of social and economic costs as the vulnerability of exposed communities differs from hazard to hazard. For instance, the physical susceptibility of infrastructure and the vulnerability of population groups have proved to be significant in the effects of disasters associated with earthquakes. Some 2.5 million people have died and more than 170 million others have been affected by the consequences of living in non-resistant buildings and infrastructure in both developed and developing countries (Alcantara-Ayala, 2008). ‘Silent hazards’, specifically droughts (Sheffield and Wood, 2011), are a major concern since their impact has accounted for more than 11.7 million casualties, with 2.1 billion people affected; these represent 51% and 31.47% of the effects of natural hazards worldwide. Flood disasters are the deadliest hazard, accounting for 30% of all disaster-related deaths, and they have affected the largest number of people, in other words, the equivalent of 51% of the total population (Table 5.1).