Mapping geological risk in urban areas

Abstract

The geological risk of economic losses was qualitatively assessed for the Moscow megacity proceeding from the combined consideration of geohazards operating in this territory and the vulnerability of urban environment. The map of geoecological conditions was built on the basis of assessing karst, suffosion, waterlogging, and landslide hazards in Moscow, and the schematic map of geological risk (scale 1: 50000) was compiled for the Moscow territory, representing risk as an integral parameter of probable damage caused by the considered geohazards and the anthropogenic load on the urban territory. The mapping procedure included four steps: grading and mapping exogenous geohazards, grading and mapping the vulnerability of urban environment (which is understood here as the city territory with the surface infrastructure) to these geohazards, distinguishing risk categories by the analysis of geohazard impact on urban environment, and compiling the resultant risk map by superposition of the integral map of exogenous geohazards and the vulnerability map. This qualitative approach provides reliable and sufficient data permitting urban planners to optimize investments in Moscow city development.