Landslides triggered by human activity on rise, study shows

More than 50,000 people were killed by landslides around the world between 2004 and 2016, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Sheffield.

The team, which compiled data on more than 4,800 fatal landslides during the 13-year period, also revealed for the first time that landslides resulting from human activity have increased over time.

The research is published today in the European Geosciences Union journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.

The team found that more than 700 fatal landslides that occurred between 2004 and 2016 had a human fingerprint. Construction works, legal and illegal mining, as well as the unregulated cutting of hills (carving out land on a slope) caused most of the human-induced landslides.

Dr Melanie Froude, a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Sheffield's Department of Geography and lead author of the study, said: "We were aware that humans are placing increasing pressure on their local environment, but it was surprising to find clear trends within the database that fatal landslides triggered by construction, illegal hill cutting and illegal mining were increasing globally during the period of 2004 to 2016."
While the trend is global, Asia is the most affected continent. Dr Froude added: "All countries in the top 10 for fatal landslides triggered by human activity are located in Asia."
Professor Petley said: "Collecting these reports and organising them into a database shows us where landslides are frequently harming people, what causes these landslides and whether there are patterns in fatal landslide occurrence over time."
"The database provides us with an overview of the impact of landslides on society."
Dr Froude said: "The prevalence of landslides in these settings suggests that regulations to protect workers and the public are insufficient or are not being sufficiently enforced. In the case of roads, maintaining safety during construction is difficult when it is economically unviable to completely shut roads because alternative routes involve substantial 100 mile-plus detours."
She added: "Landslides triggered by hill cutting are mostly a problem in rural areas, where many people illegally collect material from hillslopes to build their houses."
With appropriate regulation to guide engineering design, education and enforcement of regulation by specialist inspectors, landslides triggered by construction, mining and hill cutting are entirely preventable."
Professor Petley concluded: "The study highlights that we need to refocus our efforts globally on preventable slope accidents."