Abstract
The assessment of rockfall risks on human activities and infrastructure is of great importance. Rock falls pose a significant risk to (a) transportation infrastructure, (b) inhabited areas, and (c) Cultural Heritage sites. The paper presents a method to assess rockfall susceptibility at national scale in Greece, using a simple rating approach and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques. An extensive inventory of rockfalls for the entire country was compiled for the period between 1935 and 2019. The rockfall events that were recorded are those which have mainly occurred as distinct rockfall episodes in natural slopes and have impacted human activities, such as roads, inhabited areas, and archaeological sites. Through a detailed analysis of the recorded data, it was possible to define the factors which determine the occurrence of rockfalls. Based on this analysis, the susceptibility zoning against rockfalls at the national scale was prepared, using a simple rating approach and GIS techniques. The rockfall susceptibility zoning takes into account the following parameters: (a) the slope gradient, (b) the lithology, (c) the annual rainfall intensity, (d) the earthquake intensity, and (e) the active fault presence. Emphasis was given on the study of the earthquake effect as a triggering mechanism of rockfalls. Finally, the temporal and spatial frequency of the recorded events and the impact of rockfalls on infrastructure assets and human activities in Greece were evaluated.
Highlights
The assessment of rockfall risks on human activities and infrastructure is of great importance
According to the results of the present research, a rockfall susceptibility zoning map for Greece was prepared based on a simple Rockfall Susceptibility Index (RSI)
This index is based on the rating was prepared based on a simple Rockfall Susceptibility Index (RSI)
Summary
The assessment of rockfall risks on human activities and infrastructure is of great importance. The main assessment factors were selected based on the evaluation of the recorded data presented earlier These factors are the following: (1) slope gradient (2) lithology,. The proximity of a fault has been taken into account only as a qualitative parameter, since it relates to the formation of steep rock cliffs and increased degree of fracturing of rockmass, it can be connected to the susceptibility of a rock slope to rockfalls. Based on these factors, thematic maps for each factor were generated. The rating approach for each factor is described in the following paragraphs
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