The Open Hydrology Journal

2012, 6 : 97-111
Published online 2012 November 16. DOI: 10.2174/1874378101206010097
Publisher ID: TOHYDJ-6-97

Natural Hazard Risk Management: a Multidisciplinary Approach to Define a Decision Support System for Shallow Rainfall-Induced Landslides

N. Netti , E. Damiano , R. Greco , L. Olivares , V. Savastano and P. Mercogliano
Department of Economics - University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy.

ABSTRACT

The paper presents a Multidisciplinary Decision Support System (MDSS) to analyse rainfall-induced shallow flowslides on steep slopes covered by pyroclastic deposits. This system proposes an approach to provide technical information to the agencies responsible for civil protection and land management about the link between forecasted rainfall and the effects in terms of infiltration, slope stability, vulnerability and mitigation policy. This approach was developed at the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change (CMCC) (meteorological aspects), at the Department of Civil Engineering of the Second University of Naples (hydrological and geotechnical aspects) and at the Department of Economics of the University of Naples “Federico II” (socio-economic aspects). It has been designed as a multidisciplinary approach which simultaneously addresses the issues from different points of view, providing a comparison and integration of the different skills. The potentiality of this approach is presented for the case of the flowslide of Cervinara (Southern Italy).

Keywords:

Risk management, unsaturated soil, suction.