Debris flows and debris avalanches initiation and runout susceptibility assessment in Campania region (Italy)

Sectors of the Campania region (southern Italy), where pyroclastic airfall deposits cover carbonate slopes, have frequently experienced debris avalanches and debris flows. These landslides are triggered by heavy rainfall and in the last century caused severe destruction and hundreds of deaths. Their occurrence is controlled by the interaction of several factors, both natural and human induced. The initial failure is linked with the presence of morphological discontinuities such as rocky scarps and road cuts, which interrupt the stratigraphical continuity of an “infinite slope”. Here the main criteria for susceptibility analysis are defined trying to develop a procedure for identify highly-susceptible sources, runout and invasion areas.