The areas that seem to be most at risk for mass wasting hazards are South, West, and Central Germany. These areas look to be the more mountainous regions of the country, which would explain why they are most at risk. There are higher elevations of land that could cascade down due to earth movements, too much rain, etc.
One way Germany works to stay informed on the land is by using "GIS techniques" to map and study high risk areas. This allows for an understanding of the geological make-up of the high risk areas and can act as a warning system if movement is being recorded. It is stated in a book discussing landslide events, etc., it is stated, "Methodology to assess risks and hazards caused by mass movements is based on the advantages of GIS techniques. Two main advantages of GIS in relation to geological risk assessment are the integration and analysis capabilities." This supports that scientists can study the land with this system as a way to warn when a mass movement event is to occur.
In a seperate article it is stated how common landslide events can be in due to the geography, "In alpine regions natural hazards are a common phenomenon. Landslides, rock falls
and mudflows occur in the course of mountain degradation that reflects the natural
slope instability of mountain areas. Landslides are mostly triggered by extreme rainfall
that will, according to climate scientists, become more relevant especially in alpine
regions." Due to this knowledge, it is suggested that the best preventative measure to not be effected by these events, is to avoid those areas most at risk in the mountains.
https://books.google.com/books?id=37MIBHs3_-kC&pg=PA325&lpg=PA325&dq=Germany%27s+mass+wasting+hazards&source=bl&ots=7Lcudz5hFM&sig=sMzdhaI7Ky8zjWrpz1hXbj6XpPI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAWoVChMIyNvnxO7UyAIViyuICh3MnQOb#v=onepage&q=Germany's%20mass%20wasting%20hazards&f=false
https://www.lfu.bayern.de/geologie/massenbewegungen/doc/finalreport_adaptalp.pdf
This is similar to the Bahamas as well. The way to be informed is to measure the past events regarding mass wasting including landslides. I have a question regarding the GIS techniques, are they throughout Germany or in certain areas?
ReplyDeleteFrom my research, they focus the GIS techniques to high risk areas in the more mountainous parts, but studies have been done across most of the country to understand the land.
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