Regional-scale landslide risk assessment in Central Asia

Abstract

Landslides are widespread phenomena that occur in any terrestrial area with slopes, causing massive property damage and, in the worst-case scenario, loss of human life. This propensity to suffer losses is particularly high for developing countries due to their urban development, population growth and drastic land use changes. Social and economic consequences of landslides can be reduced through detailed planning and management strategies, which can be aided by risk analysis. In this study, we performed a detailed quantitative risk analysis for landslides in the whole of Central Asia (4 000 000 km2). Landslide-induced risk was computed, using a 200 m spatial resolution, in terms of exposed population and expected economic losses to buildings and linear infrastructures (roads and railways). The purpose of our study is to produce the first regional-scale landslide risk assessment for Central Asia in order to inform regional-scale risk mitigation strategies, and it represents an advanced step in the landslide risk analysis for extremely broad areas.