Could road constructions be more disastrous than an earthquake in terms
of landsliding?
Abstract
Roads can have a significant impact on the frequency of mass wasting
events in mountainous areas. However, characterizing the extent and
pervasiveness of landslides over time rarely been documented due to
limitations in available data sources to consistently map such events.
We monitored the evolution of a road network and assessed its effect on
slope stability for a ten year window in Arhavi, Turkey. The main road
construction projects run in the area are associated with a
hydroelectric power plant as well as other road extension works and are
clearly associated with the vast majority (90.1%) of mass movements in
the area. We also notice that the overall number and size of the
landslides are much larger than in the naturally-occurring comparison
area. This marks a strong and negative effect of human activities on the
natural course of earth surface processes. Our findings show that the
damage generated by the road construction is compatible with the
possible effect of a theoretical earthquake with a magnitude greater
than Mw=6.0. Overall, better co- and post-construction
conditions should be ensured during and after road works to mitigate the
risk to local communities. We also notice a significant variation in
sediment transport as a result of road construction. As a result, our
study fits in the big picture of Anthropocene related changes and
specifically points out at problems in mountainous areas that could
undoubtedly be better managed to reduce the risk to local communities.