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Quantitative vulnerability estimation for scenario-based landslide hazards

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Abstract

Within the engineering profession and natural sciences, vulnerability is widely accepted to be defined as the degree of loss (or damage) to a given element or set of elements within the area affected by a threat. The value of vulnerability is expressed nondimensionally between 0 and 1. It is a fundamental component in the evaluation of landslide risk, and its accurate estimation is essential in making a reasonable prediction of the landslide consequences. Obviously, vulnerability to landslides depends not only on the characteristics of the element(s) at risk but also on the landslide intensity. This paper summarizes previous research on vulnerability to landslides and proposes a new quantitative model for vulnerability of structures and persons based on landslide intensity and resistance of exposed elements. In addition, an approximate function is suggested for estimating the vulnerability of persons in structures. Different methods for estimating the vulnerability of various elements to slow or rapid landslides are discussed. Finally, the application of the new model is illustrated through an example.

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Acknowledgement

The work presented in this paper was supported by the Research Council of Norway through the Centre of Excellence “International Centre for Geohazards” (ICG) and Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). The authors gratefully acknowledge the support. The first author wishes to thank China Scholarship Council for funding his stay at ICG/NGI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Geotechnical & Underground Engineering, Ministry of Education, Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

    Zhihong Li & Hongwei Huang

  2. International Centre for Geohazards/Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, Norway

    Zhihong Li, Farrokh Nadim & Suzanne Lacasse

  3. Georisk Engineering, Florence, Italy

    Marco Uzielli

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  1. Zhihong Li
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  2. Farrokh Nadim
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  3. Hongwei Huang
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  4. Marco Uzielli
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  5. Suzanne Lacasse
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Correspondence to Zhihong Li.

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Li, Z., Nadim, F., Huang, H. et al. Quantitative vulnerability estimation for scenario-based landslide hazards. Landslides 7, 125–134 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-009-0190-3

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