Andean Landslide Hazards

Abstract

Worldwide, millions of dollars in property damage and loss of life are attributed to landslides annually. Landslides are frequent hazards in tectonically active mountain belts such as the Himalayas, Southern Alps of New Zealand, New Guinea, Japan, and the Andes, where uplift generates high topographic relief Steep slopes associated with regions of high relief provide sufficient gravitational potential for landslides to occur. Hazards exist wherever roads, dwellings, or people lie in the path of potential landslides. In many cases, human land use practices such as the cutting of roads and clearing of forest can also serve to increase the potential for landslides, and/or influence where they may happen (e.g., Wright and Mella, 1963; Preciado and Llinas, 1990).