Landslide risk assessment in slopes and hillsides. Methodology and application in a real case

Abstract

This document describes technical concepts and terms related to landslide risk on slopes and hillsides, from a comprehensive approach. A general methodology is presented for the risk analysis and assessment according to the threat, given by the interrelation susceptibility - probability of landslide occurrence; and the vulnerability of the exposed elements, obtained from a multifactorial analysis that considers physical and social aspects. Susceptibility is obtained considering various conditioning and triggering factors of instability and the probability of event occurrence is estimated from deterministic methods. The vulnerability analysis is done considering the spatial and temporal components of the potential events, as well as the impact that these could have on the exposed elements, in terms of social and material losses. This methodology is applied to the study of an urban slope in the city of Tijuana, Mexico.