AES BI OFLUX
Ad va n ce s in En vir on m e n t a l Scie n ce s -
I n t e r n a t ion a l Jou r n a l of t h e Bioflu x Socie t y
La n dslide h a za r d zon ing a t re giona l le v e l – Vâ lce a
Cou n t y ca se st udy
1
Adrian A. Mesescu, and
2Sept im ius Mara
1Aut horit y for Em ergency Sit uations, Vâlcea Count y, Rom ania; 2Minist ry of Environm ent and Forest s, Bucharest , Rom ania. Corresponding aut hor: A. Mesescu, adrianm esescu@yahoo.com
Abst r a ct. I n recent years t he severit y of t he ext rem e m et eor ological phenom ena significant ly increased,
i.e. heavy rains which led t o hist orical floods on t he m ost part of t he hydrographical basins of Rom ania, m ost ly during 2005 and 2010. These abnorm al m et eor ological phenom ena react ivat ed a great num ber of landslides. Therefore, risk m anagers, in order t o urge t he landslide invent ory at t he whole count ry level, launched hazard m aps in t erm s of Law no 575/ 2001 regarding t he “ Plan of t he nat ional t errit ory developm ent , t he Fift h sect ion – Areas of nat ural hazards” . This m eans risk m aps of Rom ania for areas prone t o nat ural hazards ( floods, landslides and eart hquakes) , as well as t he exact geographical and adm inist rat ive localization of t hese areas, including t he indicat ion of t he risk level of producing t he specific hazards. The present paper presents t he m et hodology of hazard zoning at t he local and regional level, including t he param et ers used t o draw down t he t hem at ic m aps for invent ory and represent at ion of t he act ive landslide for t he whole t errit ory. As a case st udy area, Vâlcea Count y was chosen for t he large num ber of dam ages due t o t he landslide effect s. Of t hem , t he Ocnele Mari case is not ewort hy as a nat ural reservat ion of diapire salts m assifs, affect ed by collapse due t o salt dissolut ion by runoff wat er and overexploit at ion by wat er inj ect ion.
Ke y w or ds: landslide, hazards, Vâlcea Count y.
Re zu m a t. Î n ult im ii ani, recrudescenţa fenom enelor m et eorologice periculoase s- a agravat simţit or, de exem plu precipit aţiile abundent e care au det erm inat inundaţii ist orice afect ând cea m ai m are part e a bazinelor hidrografice din Rom ânia, în special înt re 2005 şi 2010. Acest e fenom ene m et eorologice anorm ale au react ivat un număr crescut de alunecări de t eren. De aceea est e necesar, ca personalul de specialit at e im plicat în act ivităţi de urgenţă, sa urgent eze invent arierea alunecărilor de t eren la nivelul înt regii tări, pe suport cart ografic, corespunzat or specificaţiilor Legii nr. 575/ 2001, în ceea ce priveşt e “ Planul de am enaj are a t erit oriului naţional, secţiunea a V-a, de risc nat ural”. Acest ea se referă la necesarul de înt ocm ire de hărţi pent ru zonele vulnerabile la hazarde nat urale ( inundaţii, alunecări şi cut rem ure) , precum localizarea exactă geografică şi adm inistrat ivă a acest or zone, incluzând indicarea nivelului de risc de producere a hazardului specificat . Lucrarea de faţă prezintă m et odologia de zonare a hazardului la nivel local şi regional, incluzând indicat orii ut ilizaţi pent ru înt ocm irea de hărţi t em at ice pent ru invent arierea şi reprezent area alunecărilor act ive la nivelul înt regului t erit oriu naţional. Ca st udiu de caz a fost analizat Judeţul Vâlcea, pentru valoarea crescută a pagubelor produse de efect ul alunecărilor de t eren. Î nt re cazurile analizat e, zona Ocnele Mari se dist inge dat orită st at ut ului particular de rezervaţie nat urală de m asive diapire de sare, afect ată de sufoziune, dat orată dizolvării de cat re apa de suprafată m et eoricăşi de căt re exploat area saram urii prin inj ecţie de apă necont rolată în subt eran.
Cu v in t e ch e ie: alunecări de t eren, hazarde, j udeţul Vâlcea.
I n t r odu ct ion. The spreading of landslides in Rom ania wit h severe dam ages as a result
of frequent react ivation due t o relat ed geo-hazards fact ors, i.e. m et eorological, hydrological etc. induced t he increasing concern of specialist s and risk m anagers on bot h local and cent ral scale.
A brief assessm ent of t his kind shows t hat t he ground affect ed by act ive landslides in Rom ania covers a surface of 115,000 ha ( Balt eanu 1999) .
I n Rom ania, t he landslides and ot her t ypes of land m ovem ent or block fallings are connect ed particularly t o slope rock com position and linked t o clim atic regim e. The m ost frequent t ypes of landslides are associated wit h the net work of erosion of subj acent rock m at erial, and t he m udflows wit h t he surface erosion on an advance st age.
La n dslide m a ppin g sit u a t ion in Rom a n ia. So far landslide m apping for t he Rom anian
t errit ory has been conduct ed on sm all areas, for im port ant objectives and only in t he case when t he landslide t ook place in different st ages of evolution. The Law no. 575/ 2001 im poses elaboration of landslide hazard m aps in digit al form at t o cover t he whole Rom anian t errit ory. This program is in t he initial phase of developm ent and such m aps issued since t he beginning of 2004.
The Law regarding t he “ Plan of t he national territ ory developm ent ” , t he Fift h section – Areas of nat ural risks” ( no. 575/ 2001) deals wit h “ risk zones” , and includes t he present ation of t he zones prone t o floods, landslides and eart hquakes. Accordingly it creat ed t he legislative fram e for t he delim it ation of t he areas prone t o nat ural risks, for prevention and m itigation of t he effect s, which are produced by t he dest ructive nat ural phenom enon, like landslides, eart hquakes and floods (Official Journal 2001) .
Based on t he com m on Order of Minist ry of Agricult ure, Forest s, Wat ers and Environm ent and Minist ry of Transport ation, Const ruct ions and Tourism regarding t he delim it ation of t he areas pr one t o nat ural risks ( no. 62/ N- 19.0/ 288- 1.955/ 1998) , flooding risk areas from Rom ania are est ablished in t erm s on rivers and t orrent s overflowing and land sliding and upon lessons learnt from previous disast ers ( Official Journal 1998) .
The General Urban Planning ( PUG’s) , which is m anaged by local aut horities, have t o indicat e specific areas exposed t o nat ural risks, such us floods, landslides and eart hquakes, wherein is forbidden t o build, excepting t he works t hat lim it t he effect s of a pot ent ial nat ural disast er. Mainly due t o high im pact , t he landslide m aps are very im port ant for t he accuracy of scientific research, regarding prevention m easures for st opping t he solid m at erial rem oval or t he reactivation pot ent ial, which provide in t urn prot ective m easures for t he st akeholders int erest ed in t he safet y of t heir units and facilities.
According wit h t he Law of Cadast re, no. 7/ 1996 ( com plet ed in 2004 by Governm ent al Em ergency Order no. 41) t he public can consult t he specialized cadast re m aps ( such us for landslides hazard) excepting t he case of st rat egic unit s. Of course, general inform ation is m ade public t o inform population about hazards exist ence in t heir living area.
Regarding t he represent ation of t he landslide m aps, t he level of hazard m ay be rat ed qualit atively, for at least t hree different levels ( low, m edium and high) :
- Phase 1 – qualit ative – m aps of landslide hazards at scales 1: 50.000
1: 10.000 - Phase 2 – det ailed m aps of landslides hazard, in areas of high probabilit y of occurrence of landslides in t he presence of vulnerable elem ent s t hat would allow t o estim at e t he risk; scales: 1: 5000
1: 1000 ( Fig. 2).I t has t o be specified t hat in t he Urban and Territorial Planning Plans, m anaged by t he local aut horities, t he inform at ion regarding the nat ural hazards are represent ed in det ail at scales bet ween 1: 5,000 and 1: 500, depending on t he size of t he localit y. Taking int o account t hat nat ural hazards have generally a regional ext ension, an approach at t he level of t he count y, which cont ains t he all dat a from t he local level is im posed.
Figure 1a. Landslide t ypes zoning at t he adm inistrat ive level in Rom ania.
I n t erm s of pr oj ect s im plem ent ed or under im plem ent at ion, m aps expressing zoning t he nat ural risk ( floods, severe st orm s, eart hquakes, landslides, forest fires) and t echnological hazards ( indust rial accident s, t ransport at ion of dangerous goods, cont am inat ed lands) are priorit y t arget s. They have t o m eet t he EU request regarding disast er prevention, com bating and m itigation at nat ional and t rans- boundary level.
Rom a n ia n m e t h odology for la n dslide r e prese n t a t ion. The quantification of risk associated landslides requires t he use of a unified syst em of procedure, for bet ter correlation of t he charact eristics of varied locations and t heir pot ent ial hazards. I n order t o m anage such risks t he local and regional adm inist ration has t o assure proper socio-econom ic activit y, im plem enting adequat e m easures t o reduce t he risks of an accident. The nat ure of required assessm ent will vary, based on t he degree of pot ent ial risk and t heir pot ential environm ent al im pact . A useful tool for local and regional adm inist ration m ust be t he use of a com m on m et hodology based on quant ification of t he risk com ponent s, wit h a specific st andard syst em of crit eria, indices, and not es.
Risk is defined as t he probability of an event m ultiplied by an evaluation of t he adverse consequences if such an event occurs ( vulnerabilit y) :
Risk = Probabilit y x Vulnerabilit y
The Risk values could be substit ut ed by an averaged hazard coefficient for landslides, based on a m at rix evaluation, as follows:
K(h)]
K(g)
K(f)
K(e)
K(d)
[K(c)
6
K(b)
K(a)
)
(
m
K
Table 1 Landslide risk evaluation criteria for t he Rom anian t errit ory
No. crt . s y m b o l Classificat ion crit eria
Landslide pot ent ial ( p)
low Medium I ncreased
Landslide pot ential ( p) and correspondent risk coefficient
zero reduced m edium m edium
-high
high v ery high
0 < 0. 10 0. 10- 0. 30 0. 31- 0. 50 0. 51- 0. 80 > 0. 80
1 Ka Lyt hologic Massive rocks,
com pact or fissured.
The m aj orit y of t he sedim ent ary rocks which belongs t o
recent cover
form at ions (i.e. delluvium , colluvium and prolluvium
deposits) and
soft / alt ered bedrocks sem i- rocks cat egory ( st rat ified pelitic rocks, clay schist s, m arls and lim est ones, alt ered epizonal schists and/ or igneous rocks.
Not lit hfied det rit al sedim ent s, i.e. sat urat ed and soft clays, m ont m orillonit e clays, dusts and fine-m ediufine-m size sands, salt breccia et c.
2 Kb Geom
orpho-logic
Horizont al relief plan, affect ed by incipient erosion, m at ure valleys of t he
hydrographical net work.
Hills associat ed wit h piedm ont and plat eau areas, fragm ent ed by hydrographical
net works wit h advanced evolution st age, surrounded by versant s wit h m edium elevation and low t o m edium slopes.
Relief charact eristic of hill and m ount ains area, highly affect ed by recent valleys wit h high versant s parallel wit h t he layering.
3 Kc St ruct ural Massive bodies of
igneous origins, horizont ally st ratified sedim ent ary rocks,
m et am orphic rocks wit h horizont al
schist osit y.
Main geological st ruct ures are folded, fault ed and fissured; salt piercing dom es; front of t hrust nappes.
Geo- synclines wit h flysch form ations and m arginal depressions wit h m olasses; St rongly deform ed st ruct ures, i.e. fault ed, folded, t raversed by fissure st ockwork.
4 Kd Hydrologic and clim atic
Arid areas, wit h reduced annual precipit ations. The flow
discharged on t he hills and
m ount ains river
Medium precipit ation. The m ain hydrograhic net works reached t he m at urity st age
whereas t heir
t ribut aries are still in incipient evolution
Calm long lasting precipit ation, wit h increased probabilities of wat er infilt ration t hrough rocks. During
showers runoff
beds are generally cont rolled by precipit ation from t hese areas. Sedim ent ation on river beds
whereas lat eral erosions
rest rict ed t o high- floods event s.
st age. During t he high- floods bot h vertical and lat eral
erosion occur.
Significant
t ransport at ion and deposition of solid debris.
t ransport at ion of solid m at erial. Vertical erosion prevails.
5 Ke
Hydro-geology
Flow of t he ground wat er at
very low
gradient s. The filt ration forces are negligible. The hydrost at ical level of t he ground wat er is at t he relatively high deep.
Flow of t he
groundwat er t akes place at m oderat e gradient s. The filt ration forces could influence t he versant s st abilit y. The hydrost at ical level of t he ground wat er is less t han 5 m deep.
Flow of t he
groundwat er t akes place at high gradient s. Frequent springs occur at t he base of t he versant s. The filt ration forces
could produce
versant s inst abilit y and t riggering of landslides.
6 Kf Seism ic
charact erist ics Seism ic int ensity of MSK scale lower t han 6.
Seism ic intensit y of MSK scale bet ween 6-7.
Seism ic int ensity of MSK scale great er t han 7.
7 Kg Forest ry Degree of
covering wit h forest m ore t han 80% . Deciduous forest s wit h large t rees.
Degree of covering bet ween 20%
80% . Mixed conifer and deciduous forest s wit h t rees of various size and age.Degree of covering wit h forest less t han 80% .
8 Kh Hum an
im pact ( ant hropogeni c)
No m aj or
buildings on
slopes and
art ificial water reservoirs on slopes.
Const ruct ion works ( roads and railways, t unnels, quarries) of lim ited ext ension wit h prot ective works of t he versant s are found on t he slopes.
Versant s affect ed by dense wat er and sewage pipelines, roads, railways, t unnels, quarries, overloaded by wast e
dum ps, heavy
const ruct ions. The accum ulation lakes
are present ,
m oist ening t he lower part of t he slope.
Figure 1b. Territ orial m icro- zoning of t he landslide risk in Rom ania.
Nat ural hazards t hat could affect eart h st abilit y (such as floods, eart hquake, landslides, and freeze- t haw) can be com pared at t he national level (see Table no. 1) . This approach can lead t o est ablish a priorit y of needs and m easures t o be used by local or nat ional aut horities involved in nat ural or ant hropogenic risk m anagem ent . I n addition, GI S m aps m ay expose t he pot ential adverse effect s of landslides which can t rigger m ultiple-disast ers ( NATECH – t echnological ultiple-disasters t riggered by nat ural causes). So far, t his t ype of disast er has been scarcely investigat ed in Rom ania. Even t he use of m ultiple-hazard recognit ion is relatively recent in Rom ania, representing a new t rend of research, wit h significant applied im plications.
La n dslide h a z ar d occu r re nce s in t he V â lcea Cou n t y. Vâlcea Count y is one of t he m ost affect ed count ies in t he count y, by act ual dinam ic geological effect s, especially landslides ( Mesescu et al 2009) ( Fig. 2) .
At lhough t he num ber of t he cities and villages, affect ed by landslides are not so num erous t han ot her count ies, even as a ext ention of t he landslides affecting individual villages, t he degraded surfaces are larger, wit h profound social- econom ical im plications. Econom ical developm ent of t he count y indust ry during t he last decades, led t o a severe im pact on t he landscape, regardless t he land st ability. The affect ed landscape can be visualised especially in t he urban aggregat es, where t he sewage and rainwat er collection net work is not enough developed, coupled wit h the ext ension of t he roads and rail roads net work of t he coal and salt m ining in t he region ( e.g. Berbeşti, Ocnele Mari). These
Le ge n d
:
Lands pract ically flat , horizont al ( t he slope lower t han 8 % ) unaffect ed by erosion by wat er and landslides; are possible ot her processes and risk fact ors.
2 -
Relatively st able lands, but with variable risk of flooding and sedim ent set tling.3 -
Relatively st able lands, but wit h risk of excessive hum idification because of wat er st agnation because of reduced soil ( areas wit h pseudo- glazed soils) on t he piedm ont planes lands and t erraces.Lands inclined ( t he slope bet ween 8÷ 30% ) from hilly and plat eau areas, affect ed in different ranges by erosion, and different risk of erosion by wat ers and landslides.
7 -
Relatively st able lands, wit h unspecified or light - m oderat e erosion wit h reduced risk of landslides, but wit h increased risk of increasing erosion.8 -
Moderat ely st able lands, affect ed by m oderat e - excessive erosion, wit h relatively old landslides, m ore or less st abilized, but increased risk of react ivation during rainy periods, or by changing t he land developm ent ( deforest at ion, agricult ural works) or activities leading t o slope dest abilization by t erracing, or exceeding loading wit h heavy const ruct ions ( buildings roads).9 –
Very low st able lands, affect ed by excessive erosion, associat ed wit h gullies and active landslides; Are present torrent ial organism s or sit uations wit h hum idit y excess, caused by shallow ground wat er t able and slope springs.Lands abrupt ly inclined ( t he slope higher t han 15% ) predom inant ly covered by nat ural veget ation ( forest s) generally unaffect ed or slight ly affected by erosion processes and landslides and collapses.
1 0 –
Relatively unst able lands, wit h increased risk of landslide, crum bling, collapsing ( m ount ain areas of flisch, int ernal or ext ernal sub-Carpat hian area) , affect ed by excessive erosion, and associat ed by gullies and active landslides; st rongly fragm ent ed piedm ont planes lands and plat eaus.1 1 -
Relatively st able lands, but wit h local rocks and st ones fallings phenom ena (specific for cryst alline rock areas, volcanic rocks, consolidat ed sedim ent ary rocks – lim est one, sandst ones, conglom erat es).Figure 3. The landslide occurrence affecting surface infrast ruct ure, power lines and roads,
example of the Lăpuşata commune ( 6 Novem ber 2004) , Vâlcea Count y.
Ext ensive salt m ining represent s anot her fact or of risk, due t o over- exploit ation. Ocnele Mari case is not ewort hy as a nat ural reservation of Miocene diapire salt s m assifs, affect ed by collapse due t o salt dissolution by runoff wat er and int ensive wat er inj ection ( Pet rescu et al 2008; Mesescu et al 2009) ( Fig. 4) .
Figure 4. Location of t he Ocnele Mari landslide caused by salt m ining by water injection - Vâlcea Count y.
M it iga t ion m ea su r e s of t he la n dslides in V âlcea Coun t y. I n order t o prevent and
m itigat e t he effect s of nat ural disast ers, such as landslides and floods, m easures t o m inim ize t he socio- econom ic im pact are t o be t aken and have t o include:
Figure 5. Schem atic landslide represent ation used by em ergency services – case of
Lăpuşata commune – Zărneşti village – Vâlcea Count y, 6 Novem ber 2004; 1. affect ed
households; 2. village; 3. com m unal road; 4. church; 5. rupt ure zone; 6. landslide body.
Obligation t o conduct geological surveys, including laborat ory and in sit u geot echnical t est s, in order t o know t he propert ies of t he soil and bedrock of t he populat ed areas and t hose wit h a socio- econom ic activit y;
I m plem ent ation of special building rules, which have t o t ake int o account t he exist ence of nat ural hazards in t he area ( Balt eanu 1979);
Measures for prevent ion and reduction of nat ur al risks have also t o be im plem ent ed. They have t o consist of t he following:
Maint enance of t he facilities for prot ection and m itigation of nat ural disasters;
Cont rol of t he degree of land occupation and t he com pletion of t he specific land use and building plans;
I nform at ion of t he populat ion regarding t he pot ent ial risks specific t o t heir respective inhabit ed area;
Syst em atic forecast of heavy rains since intense rainfall is one of t he m aj or landslide t riggering and reactivation fact ors.
The m ain non st ruct ural m easures in prevention the landslides, are t he following: - t he prom ot ion of t he field st udies, based on laborat ory research;
- an im proved knowledge of t he real sit uation from t he point of view of st abilit y and t he charact eristics of t he usual ground param et ers in t he areas where it is int ended t o design and execut e any t ype of works.
These can lead t o a reduction of t he landslides occurrence, and m inim ization of t he m at erial dam ages and avoidance of hum an losses ( Mara et al 2003) .
I n de m nit y issue s of t h e a ffect e d pe oples by la n dslide s. Generally, any dam age assessm ent is m ade in order t o ensure com pensat ion t o t he affect ed persons ( and according wit h t he law of t he National System of Em ergency Sit uat ions, t he m ain aim of t he defence act ivit y aft er a disaster t ook place is t o dim inish t he effect s and t o recover t he dam ages) . I t has t o be specified t hat t he insurance com panies had so far a weak involvem ent in t he activities for preventing and reducing t he effect s produced by t he landslides in high risk areas in Rom ania. The insurance com panies were not unwilled t o insure goods and properties locat ed in landslides- prone areas. The only financial resources for m inim izing t he dam ages caused by t he landslide and/ or floods were t he funds allocated by t he St at e budget and external credit s. Recently, in 2005, t he Governm ent t ook t he initiative t o launch a proj ect of a norm at ive act for t he Obligat ory I nsurance of propert ies against nat ural disast ers (including landslides) and fires. The new law of Obligat ory I nsurance ent ered in force during 2010.
A well known exam ple of landslide dam ages covered by t he St ate Budget is t he case of Panga Nord coal m ining t ailing wast e deposit landslide, which affect ed on
9.02.2007, the village Mateeşti, covering several houses without insurance coverage (Fig.
6) . This way t he acut e problem of indem nity for affect ed people by floods, eart hquakes and landslides will be solved.
Figure 6. A fast er recovery of t he landslide affect ed areas is possible upon insurance – exam ple of t he Panga Nord coal m ining tailing wast e deposit landslide, Vâlcea Count y.
Pr e ve n t ion m e a su r e s for m in im izin g th e la ndslide vu ln e ra bilit y. Due t o increasing
risk of ext rem e m et eorological events recorded all over t he world in connection wit h clim atic variations of t he last decade, increased risks st em m ing from geo- hazards have been occurring in Rom ania, on particular settings t hat com bine slope elem ent s and subj acent geology of specific areas ( Mara et al 2003) . Therefore it is possible t hat som e areas will becom e m ore prone t o landslides, for inst ance where slopes are covered by porous soil and rocks and falling rain can sat urate it very quickly. I f t he areas prone t o landslide will be invent oried, furt her inform at ion t o plan and avoid t he danger areas, or put in place prot ection syst em s if econom ically viable, will increase t he early warning capabilit y for t he people prot ection, lim iting t he possible disast er effect s.
On t he zones vulnerable at landslide near t he t ransport ation rout es, supplem ent ary works for lim it ation of t he consequences of t he landslide effect s ( soil erosion prot ection works by reforest ation, t orrent s regulation prot ection works et c.) are of high necessit y.
should include reforest ation, which can im prove t he slope st abilit y, t hrough rest rict ed invest m ent s com pared t o ot her correction procedures ( diverting t he roads, expensive consolidation works, such as supplem ent ary em bankm ent s, slope angle reduction, et c.) , I n t he case of t he landslide Mateeşti, which affected a nearby wat er course, endangering a large part of t he village t o be flooded by blocking t he valley ( Fig. 7) , sim ilar st ruct ural m easures should have been prom ot ed in order t o prevent t he land inst abilit y.
Figure 7. Reforest ation m ay be m ore reliable t han ot her engineering works – e.g. Panga Nord coal m ining t ailing wast e deposit landslide, Vâlcea Count y.
As m ent ioned before, an int ense rainfall represents a m aj or landslide fact or, and m ust be duly forecasted.
Field st udies and t he laborat ory research for assessing t he real sit uation of land st abilit y, and furt herm ore t he m apping of t he hazard vulnerability in t he areas of int ense socio- econom ical activity, especially inhabit ed cent ers, can reduce t he im pact of t he landslides and, consequent ly, t hey are fully recom m ended.
I n for m in g popula t ion a bou t a re a s pr on e t o la n dslide h a za r d. Technical inform at ion
of t he inhabit ant s regarding t he pot ential risk areas, t he im m inence of t he landslides phenom ena, t heir effect s and t he m easures taken, is essential for com plet e and successful action plans for m itigation of t he adverse sit uations due t o landslides nearby inhabit ed areas.
An efficient preparedness m easure depends on w arnings issued by the aut horit ies related t o t he evolution of t he adverse hydro- m et eorological phenom ena, which oft en const it ut e t he t riggering fact or for t he landslide phenom ena.
I n order t o ensure t he m it igation of t he disast er effect s during t he response phase, t he endowm ent at t he level of t he crisis unit from each m unicipalit y is necessary. I t m ay be found as a special building fond designed for nat ural calam ities or m an- m ade cat ast rophes in order t o assure t he accom m odation of t he hom eless people affected by t he disast ers (including landslide), from t he inhabit ed areas.
The prom pt inform ation of t he population regarding t he possible effect of t he nat ural hazards in specific areas, due t o t he persistence of dangerous hydro-m et eorological phenohydro-m ena, or regarding t he presence of ot her t riggering fact ors of nat ural hazards, leads t o a m ore precautionary behavior of t he population, and t o m inim ization of t he consequences in case of a natural disast er, particularly a landslide.
t he above proposed m et hodology, once available at local aut horities, the insurance com panies, able t o consult unit ary inform ation regarding hazard occurrences at t he level of a count y, will have t o reorient t heir developm ent st rat egies, est ablishing cat egories of prem ium s according t o t he risk level of each region, assuring a bet t er m anagem ent of t he funds for t he com pensation of t he affect ed persons by disast ers. Once t he dat abase for nat ural hazard area for all counties will be operat ional, it ’s expect ed t he financial resources of t he St at e will be efficiently dist ribut ed as supplem ent ary m easures for preventing disast ers. Because of recent ly law of “ obligat ory insurance” , once all propert y owners will insure t heir houses, following a disast er, will not be necessarily t o use t he St at e funds for direct com pensat ion of t he affect ed persons, as in t he past. I n t his way t he St at e com pensat ion funds will be com plet ely replaced by t he newly put in place insured m echanism . A com m on m et hodology for accom plishing m ulti- disast ers m aps, t o be im plem ent ed at t he level of t he local com m unit y, will allow t he unit ary represent ation of t he probabilit y of producing different disast ers t ypes and relat ed effect s. This inform ation will be available for all fact ors involved in t he activit y of prevention and m itigation of t he disast er effect s at t he local, count y or regional level. Using a com m on m et hodology, harm onized for EU request s, a bet t er cooperat ion at t he Eur opean level, leading t o a unit ary approach in t he fram e of com m on proj ect s is t o be prom ot ed.
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Received: 17 June 2011. Accept ed: 22 July 2011. Published online: 27 August 2011. Aut hors:
Adrian A. Mesescu, Aut horit y for Em ergency Sit uat ions, 1 General Praporgescu St reet, Râm nicul Valcea, Vâlcea Count y, Rom ania; e- m ail: adrianm esescu@yahoo.com
Sept im ius Mara, Minist ry of Environm ent and Forest s, 12 Libertăţii Boulevard, Sect or 5, Bucharest, Rom ania; e-m ail: sept ie-m iuse-m ara@yahoo.coe-m
How t o cit e t his art icle:
Mesescu A. A., Mara S., 2011 Landslide hazard zoning at regional level – Vâlcea Count y case st udy. AES Bioflux
