Abstract
On February 14th, 2018, in the North-Western sector of the Municipality of Rome (Central Italy), in the framework of an excavation for building construction, a portion of a piling wall piling wall collapsed in an already densely urbanized area. Soil behind the collapsed piling wall slipped inside the excavation site dragging seven cars parked on one side of the road running parallel to the piling wall and affecting some residential buildings located on the opposite side of the road. Fortunately, no injuries were counted but the 22 families living in the buildings next to the damaged wall were evacuated. Following the piling wall collapse, the Civil Protection of Rome, thanks to the technical support of the Research Centre on Geological Risks (CERI) of the Sapienza University of Rome, started a continuous monitoring of the affected area through remote sensing techniques. In the first hours following the collapse, a Terrestrial Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometer (TInSAR) and a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) were installed with the aim to control the evolution of the process, to support the local authority to manage the associated residual risk, and to ensure the safety of workers during emergency operations. In this paper we discuss some of the results obtained by the monitoring of the involved area. Thanks to the comparisons between different surveys and the reconstruction of the pre-event geometries, the total volume involved in the failure was estimated around 850 m3. In addition, through the analysis of data acquired by the 18 multi-temporal TLS scans and the three and a half months of continuous TInSAR monitoring, the movement involving a portion of the filling material used for stabilization works was observed and described. Such movement, reaching a total displacement of about 270–300 mm, was monitored and reported in real time.
Highlights
Human-induced landslides usually occur on cut slopes due to excavation works, leading to many fatalities and significant damages in economic and social terms
Slope excavations are one of the most hazardous operations in geotechnical works. Such occurrences are very frequent in urban areas, where construction and excavation work, typical of the urbanisation process, are known to increase the incidence of slope failure, acting on the hydrological processes and stress distribution
In addition to the safety of workers within the construction sites, in the urban context the risk is amplified by the damaging effects that can be generated to the urban settlements in the surrounding areas
Summary
Human-induced landslides usually occur on cut slopes due to excavation works, leading to many fatalities and significant damages in economic and social terms. Slope excavations are one of the most hazardous operations in geotechnical works Such occurrences are very frequent in urban areas, where construction and excavation work, typical of the urbanisation process, are known to increase the incidence of slope failure, acting on the hydrological processes and stress distribution. In addition to the safety of workers within the construction sites, in the urban context the risk is amplified by the damaging effects that can be generated to the urban settlements in the surrounding areas (e.g., strategic infrastructures, communication roads, utilities, etc.). (e.g., earthquakes, landslides, etc.), advanced maintenance of critical elements, construction works landslides, etc.), advanced maintenance of critical elements, construction works [6] Reliability of analysis [7]
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