Investigation of recent catastrophic landslides in the flysch belt of Outer Western Carpathians (Czech Republic): progress towards better hazard assessment

Abstract

Abstract. Rapid snow melting and intense precipitation triggered and reactivated tens of mostly shallow landslides in the eastern part of the Czech Republic at the turn of March and April 2006. This area is build up by highly fractured flysch rock units with variable content of sandstones and claystones. The landslide complex at Hluboče (Brumov-Bylnice town) is composed of shallow translational (up to 10 m thick) as well as deep-seated (up to 20 m thick) rotational landslides, which generated a catastrophic earthflow at their toe. This earthflow destroyed three buildings, the access road and caused total loss of about 350 000 EUR. Detailed field investigation, review of the archive sources and interviewing of local inhabitants allowed brief description of slope movement history prior the catastrophic event as well as detailed reconstruction of slope failure mechanisms during the main movement activity (3-4 April 2006). This information, along with the detailed description of the passive as well as active causative factors (structural and morphologic settings) can contribute towards better identification of potentially dangerous slope failures in the study region.

Report on a recent deep-seated landslide at Gírová Mt., Czech Republic, triggered by a heavy rainfall: The Gírová Mt., Outer West Carpathians; Czech Republic

“…This case study reaffirms a fact that large active landslides usually develop within existing unstable areas of older and dormant deep-seated landslides or deep-seated gravitational deformations (see Krejčí et al 2002;Baroň et al 2004;Klimeš et al 2009). The study also showed that the mass movement could be repeatedly activated in this area here similarly to other Carpathian deep-seated landslides presented by Baroň et al (2004) or Klimeš et al (2009).…”

“…On the other hand, the liquefying of the substrate and the development of rather shallow earthflows and secondary landslides at the frontal parts of deep-seated rotational slope failures in the Flysch Belt of Outer West Carpathians, similar to the this reported example, was also noted by Baroň et al (2004) or Klimeš et al (2009). They observed that such shallow landslides and earthflows are usually much more rapid and destructive than deep-seated precursors.…”

“…The study also showed that the mass movement could be repeatedly activated in this area here similarly to other Carpathian deep-seated landslides presented by Baroň et al (2004) or Klimeš et al (2009). Although the event frequency Fig.…”

Monitoring of recent mass movement activity in anthropogenic slopes of the Krušné Hory Mountains (Czech Republic)

“…Specific geological, geomorphological and anthropogenic conditions have caused mass movements here to be similar to the Flysh Carpathians region, where the magnitude and dynamics of mass movements are greatest in the Czech Republic (Klimeš et al, 2009).…”

Landslide field research and capacity building through international collaboration

“…Several Czech as well as foreign Ph.D. students have been integrated into the research (e.g. Caceres 2007;Klimeš 2008;Klimeš et al 2009;Hartvich et al 2008;Vařilová and Přikryl 2008); B/ a holistic approach by implementation and creative improvement of novel scientific tools, especially those provided by the Complex Systems Theory, Nonlinear Dynamics and the Theory of Graphs (Zvelebil et al 2008a, b, c); C/ information dissemination and capacity building in third world countries, currently Peru and Ethiopia.…”