Brief communication: Weak correlation between building damage and loss of life from landslides

<p>Mapping exposure to landslides is necessary to mitigate risk and increase resilience. Exposure maps can be constructed from building databases, akin to seismic risk assessments, but there has been little investigation of the predictive relationship between building damage from landslides an...

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Main Authors: M. Van Wyk de Vries, A. Dunant, A. L. Johnson, E. L. Harvey, S. Li, K. Arrell, J. Baniya, D. Basnet, G. K. Basyal, N. D. Bhotia, S. J. Dadson, A. L. Densmore, T. B. Dong, M. E. Kincey, K. Oven, A. Puri, N. J. Rosser
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2025-06-01
Series:Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
Online Access:https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/25/1937/2025/nhess-25-1937-2025.pdf
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Summary:<p>Mapping exposure to landslides is necessary to mitigate risk and increase resilience. Exposure maps can be constructed from building databases, akin to seismic risk assessments, but there has been little investigation of the predictive relationship between building damage from landslides and risk to human life. Our study investigates this relationship globally and in Nepal (47 213 and 5664 landslides, respectively). While a correlation exists for nationwide totals (<span class="inline-formula"><i>R</i><sup>2</sup></span> <span class="inline-formula">=</span> 0.75), it is negligible for individual events (<span class="inline-formula"><i>R</i><sup>2</sup></span> <span class="inline-formula">=</span> 0.025). It is important to not construct landslide exposure maps from building datasets alone, else building damage may be inadvertently prioritised over human lives in disaster planning.</p>
ISSN:1561-8633
1684-9981