Landslides in the Dinarides and Pannonian Basin—from the largest historical and recent landslides in Croatia to catastrophic landslides caused by Cyclone Tamara (2014) in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Two neighboring countries in the southeastern region of Europe, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH), belong to the same geotectonic units of the Dinarides and to the Pannonian Basin, which influence relief types, lithology, and types of slope movements, i.e., landslides. The Dinarides are a mountain chain with a northwest-southeast direction that span from Slovenia through Croatia, BIH and Montenegro to Albania. The Pannonian Basin is situated within the Alpine, Carpathian, and Dinaric mountain belts at the boundary between Central and Southeastern Europe. The paper describes the general geological and geomorphological conditions in the Dinarides and the European Pannonian Basin in Croatia and BIH that are preparatory causal factors for landslides in the following environments: the hills of the Istrian Peninsula and Rjecina River Valley; hills, low- and mid-altitude mountains in the Dinarides; and lowlands and hills in the Pannonian Basin. Landslide types, dimensions, and activities in the described areas are related to natural conditions primarily influenced by tectonic evolution and by recent anthropogenic processes, e.g., urbanization. More detailed descriptions are provided for the following selected phenomena, which are interesting because of the associated damage and potential risk: translational block landslide Brus and erosion phenomena on the Istrian Penninsula; relict and historical large, deep-seated landslides in the Rjecina River Valley, including the recently reactivated Grohovo and Valici Landslides; catastrophic landslides triggered by precipitation during Cyclone Tamara in BIH (2014) (the Mackovac-Serici Landslide, Mjestova Ravan Landslide, Kosova Landslide, and Lukavica Landslide); and a large, deep-seated landslide in urban area of Zagreb, the Kostanjek Landslide. Recent rainfall triggering conditions of landslides in Croatia (2013) and BIH (2014) are also specified to emphasize the landslide risk and necessity of landslide risk management. The conclusions of the paper also note historical and potential damage due to landslide reactivations together with the spatial distribution of landslide-prone areas, which requires landslide mapping in the form of landslide inventory, susceptibility, hazard, and risk maps.