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Central Asia regions are characterized by active tectonics, high mountain chains with extreme topography with glaciers, and strong seasonal rainfall events. These key predisposing factors make large landslides a serious natural threat in the area, causing several casualties every year. The mountain crests are divided by wide lenticular or narrow, linear intermountain tectonic depressions, which are incised by many of the most important Central Asia rivers and are also subject to major seasonal river flood hazard. This multi-hazard combination is a source of potential damming scenarios, which can bring cascading effects with devastating consequences for the surrounding settlements and population. Different hazards can only be managed with a multi-hazard approach coherent within the different countries, as suggested by the requirements of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. This work was carried out within the framework of the Strengthening Financial Resilience and Accelerating Risk Reduction in Central Asia (SFRARR) project as part of a multi-hazard approach with the aim of providing a damming susceptibility analysis at a regional scale for Central Asia. To achieve this, a semi-automated GIS-based mapping method, centered on a bivariate correlation of morphometric parameters defined by a morphological index, originally designed to assess the damming susceptibility at basin/regional scale, was modified to be adopted nationwide and applied to spatially assess the obstruction of the river network in Central Asia for mapped and newly formed landslides. The proposed methodology represents an improvement to the previously designed methodology, requiring a smaller amount of data, bringing new preliminary information on damming hazard management and risk reduction, and identifying the most critical area within the Central Asia regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of climatic factors on landslides triggers and displacement rates is a crucial research topic, especially due to the growing need to understand the evolution of climate change in historical periods of intense precipitation and anomalous temperature increases. Italy, highly prone to hydrogeological instability, extremely its mountainous regions such as the Alps, stands as a pertinent subject area for instability scenarios. However, the interpretation of climate effects on landslides is still an open issue. This work proposed a simplified methodology for investigating the displacements of three slow- moving landslides located in the Western Alps of Piemonte region, in response to significant meteorological events evaluated from reference normal of precipitation and temperature trends over the reference period 1991-2020. Another purpose is to emphasize the advantages of using different monitoring techniques by comparing displacement time series measured with in situ and remote sensing instruments, to detect ground deformation processes of these gravitational phenomena. The existence of a robust monitoring network, coupled with InSAR dataset support, has allowed detecting climatic factors' impact on displacement rates for the outlined case studies. The results have demonstrated the relationships between the identified climatic events and variations in displacement time series, as well as the potential of integrating field observations and InSAR techniques to improve the interpretation of landslide dynamics. Although this study has laid the basis for understanding the influence of climatic factors on landslide displacements, there is still much to investigate and refine. The proposed preliminary analysis will further improve the ability to predict, monitor and mitigate landslide risk under changing climate conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslides are widespread phenomena that occur in any terrestrial area with slopes, causing massive property damage and, in the worst-case scenario, loss of human life. This propensity to suffer losses is particularly high for developing countries due to their urban development, population growth and drastic land use changes. Social and economic consequences of landslides can be reduced through detailed planning and management strategies, which can be aided by risk analysis. In this study, we performed a detailed quantitative risk analysis for landslides in the whole of Central Asia (4 000 000 km2). Landslide-induced risk was computed, using a 200 m spatial resolution, in terms of exposed population and expected economic losses to buildings and linear infrastructures (roads and railways). The purpose of our study is to produce the first regional-scale landslide risk assessment for Central Asia in order to inform regional-scale risk mitigation strategies, and it represents an advanced step in the landslide risk analysis for extremely broad areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite radar remote sensing techniques are non-invasive methodologies that can be effectively used for diagnostic purposes, measuring displacements, and monitoring cultural assets, architectural structures, and archaeological areas without injuring their integrity. The environmental condition and hydrogeological hazard in the Italian territory could make its invaluable Cultural Heritage at risk. Therefore, within the National Extraordinary Plan for Monitoring and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, an agreement has been established between the Ministry of Culture and the UNESCO Chair of the UNiversity of Florence on Prevention and Sustainable Management of Geo-hydrological Hazard to analyse ground motion rates on built-up areas by means of acquisition and PSI (Persistent Scatterers Interferometry) elaboration of high-resolution CosmoSkyMed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data (X-band). This technique can provide useful support on the conservation and protection of Cultural Heritage, as it endorses an innovative perspective on the condition and safety of historical sites, monuments, archaeological sites and artworks, thus contributing significantly to their preservation over time. Through SAR interferometric techniques, it is possible to identify millimetric displacements related to environmental threats, such as slow-moving landslides. This work proposes the classification of buildings of urban areas by using two indices based on PSI data coverage and deformation rates: the data coverage index in each building (Id) and the average velocity index of PSI data in each building and its surroundings (Ivmean), representing deformation rates in a locally scaled, easily understandable color-coded format. This method has already been tested in scientific literature on other SAR datasets for evaluating instability at the building scale. The approach aims to develop a fast and low-cost system to assess buildings that are potentially exposed to deformation and therefore more susceptible to damage in heavily urbanized areas with high historical-cultural value. In order to safeguard Cultural Heritage from natural disasters, the proposed methodology integrates a high degree of scientific and technological expertise and presents an updated and accurate screening of potential deformations due to hydrogeological hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]