Landslide Risk Assessment 123456
Landslide Risk Assessment 123456
Landslide Risk Assessment 123456
Research Online
Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences Papers
1999
Phillip N. Flentje
University of Wollongong, [email protected]
Robin N. Chowdhury
University of Wollongong, [email protected]
Publication Details
Ko Ko, C., Flentje, P. N. & Chowdhury, R. N. (1999). Landslide risk assessment - development of a hazard consequence approach. The
International Symposium on Slope Stability Engineering: Geotechnical and GeoEnvironmental Aspects (pp. 1309-1315). United
Kingdom: Balkema.
Several Landslide Hazard and Risk Assessment methods have been developed and used in the State of New
South Wales (NSW), Australia. The Rail Services Australia Geotechnical Services and the Roads and Traffic
Authority of NSW have each developed Risk Assessment procedures suitable to their own specific needs. A
generic risk management methodology is presented in the Australian Standard/New Zealand Standard (AS/
NZS) 4360:1995. An approach similar to the (AS/NZS) 4360:1995 Risk Management Standard has been
applied by a NSW State Emergency Services geotechnical team (which included one of the writers) to 191
problem sites in the Wollongong Area, following a major rainstorm event in August 1998, (GTR, 1998). The
writers at the University of Wollongong (UOW) are developing a more comprehensive hazardconsequence
approach. This has required careful and precise definitions of the terms and parameters being used. It is the
writers' intention that this will lead to effective, efficient and consistent assessments of hazard and risk. Field
Data Sheets based on the stated concepts are being developed and tested at several field sites. The
formalisation of field data collection will provide a good mechanism for consistent data capture. Data
collected in this manner is most suited for management in a database environment.
Keywords
Ko Ko, C., Flentje, P. N. & Chowdhury, R. N. (1999). Landslide risk assessment - development of a hazard
consequence approach. The International Symposium on Slope Stability Engineering: Geotechnical and
GeoEnvironmental Aspects (pp. 1309-1315). United Kingdom: Balkema.
ABSTRACT: Several Landslide Hazard and Risk Assessment methods have been developed and used in the
State of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The Rail Services Australia Geotechnical Services and the
Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW have each developed Risk Assessment procedures suitable to their own
specific needs. A generic risk management methodology is presented in the Australian Standard/New Zealand
Standard (AS/NZS) 4360:1995. An approach similar to the (AS/NZS) 4360:1995 Risk Management Standard
has been applied by a NSW State Emergency Services geotechnical team (which included one of the writers)
to 191 problem sites in the Wollongong Area, following a major rainstorm event in August 1998, (GTR,
1998). The writers at the University of Wollongong (UOW) are developing a more comprehensive hazardconsequence approach. This has required careful and precise definitions of the terms and parameters being
used. It is the writers intention that this will lead to effective, efficient and consistent assessments of hazard
and risk. Field Data Sheets based on the stated concepts are being developed and tested at several field sites.
The formalisation of field data collection will provide a good mechanism for consistent data capture. Data
collected in this manner is most suited for management in a database environment.
1 INTRODUCTION
A study of the available hazard and risk assessment
methods and procedures indicates that different
levels or stages of risk assessment could be carried
out depending on the available data. The greater the
quantity of available data and the better its quality,
the greater the objectivity and accuracy of the
assessment achieved.
Comprehensive geotechnical investigations and
subsurface monitoring are costly and such
expenditure may or may not be required or
economically justified. On the other hand, site
inspections with some mapping are comparatively
cost effective as essential preliminary tools for the
decision making process.
At present, risk assessment methods are described
as
Qualitative,
Semi-quantitative
and
Quantitative in relation to the degree of subjective
judgement involved in making the assessment. In
most cases, Qualitative assessment is the prerequisite assessment for justification of further more
rigorous Semi-quantitative or Quantitative
assessments.
respective needs.
The Australian Geomechanics Society method
arrives at risk assessment directly. However, the
other methods qualitatively assess the probability of
landsliding (hazard) and separately assess the
damage and/or loss of life (consequence). Based on
these assessments of hazard and consequence, risk is
determined and expressed in several categories. A
further step is taken in the RTA method where
numerical weighting is used in probability
assessment of slope failure or landsliding. Some
further details of these methods are described and
discussed below.
Catastrophic - 5
H
H
H
H
S
PROBABILITY of event affecting the track, in the short term (12 months).
Assessment is necessary of probability of event occurring and affecting the track
LOW (L)
HIGH (H) Event is MODERATE (M)
VERY LOW
Event is probable but
anticipated
Event is probable
Event is possible
not expected
Extreme (E)
- loss of life expected
- extensive damage and
disruption
3
Priority 3
Severe (S)
- loss of life is possible, not
expected
- appreciable damage and
disruption
3
Priority 1
4
Priority 1
3
Priority 1
4
Priority 2
Moderate (M)
- loss of life or serious injury not
expected
- minor damage to structures and
facilities
Minor
Instability
VH
Class
H
based on
M
Instability
L
Score
VL
VH = Very High
H = High
M = Medium
L = Low
VL = Very Low
VH
1
1
2
3
3
H
1
1
2
3
3
Consequence
M
2
2
3
4
4
Rating Report.
The Slope Risk Rating (Table 3) is designed to
establish an order of priority that adequately reflects
the need for geotechnical investigation and remedial
or preventive action. The potential for and the
consequences of slope failure are qualitatively
determined by an instability assessment and a
consequence assessment respectively, and the
process of assessment requires experience,
knowledge and includes a fair degree of subjectivity
(RTA, 1995).
The RTA risk assessment approach takes the
process of slope instability assessment a step further
by adopting a scoring technique. The classification
of slope instability assessment is based on field
observations of thirteen components, each with a
numerical weighting (score) recorded on the slope
instability score sheets. The score assigned to each
component is recorded either as a single value or as
the cumulative sum of the individual scores assigned
to the features. The instability score (I.S) which is
the sum of the individual scores assigned to each
component of a slope is qualitatively represented as
an Instability Class as shown in column 1, Table 3.
The score sheet also includes the following
information: (a) nature of the slope (cut, fill or
natural), and (b) material type (rock or soil), where
separate consideration and scoring are given for
rock slope and soil/fill slope. This type of
instability assessment by numerical weighting
utilising scoring sheets contributes to consistent and
repeatable assessments.
L
3
3
4
5
5
VL
4
4
5
5
5
PROBABILITY
DESCRIPTION
The event is expected and will occur in
most circumstances.
ANNUAL PROBABILITY
>0.2
(within 5years)
>100
Very High
80 - <100
High
0.2 - >0.02
(within 5 to 50years)
60 - <80
Medium
40 - <60
Low
0.002 - >0.0002
(within 500 to 5000years)
<40
Very Low
>0.0002
(greater than 5000years)
0.02 - >0.002
(within 50 to 500years)
Table 5. Hazard assessments results derived from 5 qualitative methods on 6 selected sites by an
experienced professional.
Site
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
AS/NZS
Probability
unlikely
moderate
moderate
likely
moderate
moderate
GTR (1998)
Probability
unlikely
likely
likely
almost certain
likely
almost certain
RSA
Probability
Very Low
High
High
High
High
High
RTA
Instability Class
High
Very High
Very High
Very High
Very High
Very High
UOW
Probability
Medium
High
High
Very High
High
Very High
Table 6. Hazard assessments results derived from 6 qualitative methods on 6 selected sites by an
inexperienced professional.
Site
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
AS/NZS
Probability
unlikely
moderate
moderate
almost certain
moderate
moderate
GTR (1998)
Probability
moderate
likely
moderate
almost certain
likely
likely
RSA
Probability
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
High
Moderate
Moderate
RTA
Instability Class
Medium
Very High
Very High
High
Very High
High
UOW
Probability
Medium
High
High
Very High
High
Very High
6 CONCLUSIONS
Several qualitative hazard and risk assessment
methods and approaches have been studied and their
main features outlined in this paper. Each of these
approaches has been used successfully in the
context for which they were developed and within
the agencies that developed them for particular
applications. Yet it should be recognised that each
method has both its merits and limitations. The AGS
approach, for instance, has the merit of simplicity
but it requires an experienced geotechnical engineer
to make an assessment and the use of considerable
subjective judgement. Hazard and consequence are
not separated. Moreover, it is not possible to
distinguish the level of risk between different sites,
each with a previous history of instability.
Methods which consider a probability (hazard) consequence matrix approach allow systematic
assessment of risk and are, therefore, more valuable.