Abstract
Extreme rainfall is the main cause of landslides and, depending on the magnitude of the rainfall event and the geomorphological characteristics of the landslide-prone area, its occurrence can lead to debris-flows, causing higher damage than floods. Empirical rainfall thresholds of landslide triggering have been proposed by researchers and used as a basis of early warning systems activated throughout the world. The present paper shows the results of an analysis aimed to formulate, in an empirical fashion, the landslide triggering conditions for the north-eastern region of Sicily, in which a catastrophic debris-flow has caused 37 deaths, on October 1, 2009. More specifically, we have investigated the possibility to exploit annual maxima of rainfall for fixed durations, available in the annual reports of the Water Observatory of the Department of Water and Waste of Sicily Region. Calibration of rainfall thresholds has been carried out using the National Research Council’s AVI database of historical information on landslides developed by Guzzetti et al. (Environ Manage 18(4):623–633, 1994). Also the FLaIR model (Forecasting of Landslides Induced by Rainfall), proposed by Sirangelo and Versace (Atti del XXIII Convegno di Idraulica e Costruzioni Idrauliche, Firenze, pp D361–D373, 1992), and used as a basis in the realization of several early warning systems in Italy, has been implemented and tested on the case-study area. The results of the work can find application in view of the development of a landslide early warning system in the area.
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Peres, D.J., Cancelliere, A. (2013). Defining Rainfall Thresholds for Early Warning of Rainfall-Triggered Landslides: The Case of North-East Sicily. In: Margottini, C., Canuti, P., Sassa, K. (eds) Landslide Science and Practice. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31337-0_33
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31337-0_33
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