Analysis of Landslide Events in Two Austrian Communities in the Year 2005

Belgrad

2007

9 S.

Artikel aus einer ZeitschriftUnselbständiges Werk

200142076

In August 2005, heavy thunderstorms triggered lots of landslides throughout Austria. Especially in the province of Styria landslides caused severe property damage. The BFW made a detailed post-event analysis in order to investigate the causalities of the landslide events. The area under investigation contains a ground surface of approximately 60 km2. The documentation of the damage events was conducted with the help of a newly-developed event database which is operated by the Austrian Federal Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control. For the documentation of landslide properties, the Ń5W-standardń was applied. The results of the BFW study indicate that for the vast majority of landslides two main factors were responsible: 1) the geological settings, because Tertiary weathering debris was not removed due to missing glaciation in the investigation area. For this reason, superficial deposits have partially reached thicknesses of up to 10 m 2) anthropogenic interference on slopes. These caused, in combination with critical precipitation amounts and high soil moisture content, intensified landslide triggering. Two-thirds of recorded landslides were influenced by anthropogenic activities.