A team of researchers in Brazil has come up with a more comprehensive way to identify potential areas susceptible to landslides. This is an extremely important development because, in the case of landslides, awareness about the risks could be the difference between a minor headache and a major tragedy.
The scientists are employing a method using light detection and ranging, also known as lidar, to map potential problem areas. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains lidar is an airborne remote-sensing method. It uses pulsed lasers to generate three-dimensional images of the Earth's surface.
According to the São Paulo Research Foundation in a Phys.Org article, the researchers use the lidar images and combine them with data they have collected from areas where previous landslides occurred. This includes topographical and geological information. All of this data together allows forecasters to identify potentially dangerous areas with great precision.
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The study was triggered by massive, uncharacteristic rainfall in February 2023 in Brazil. The storms led to hundreds of landslides. According to the Brazilian Journal of Geography, "the event caused significant damage, including road blockages and mudslides that affected water and power supplies, resulting in 63 deaths, 40 missing persons, and approximately 1,730 homeless individuals."
The scientists analyzed the landslide points using the new technology, per Phys.Org. They will then take the models they're building and extrapolate them to identify other problem areas, so appropriate safety plans can be made.
In the case of landslides, knowledge is power. The ability to predict where future landslides might occur can be the difference between life and death. In July, devastating landslides hit Ethiopia, killing 229. Forecasters recently estimated that over 40% of the United States is susceptible to landslides.
Around the globe, rapidly changing climates have led to more extreme weather events. These include more and more cases of unexpected torrential downpours and flash flooding. And with all of this precipitation, the risk of landslides intensifies dramatically. The ability to accurately predict where the next landslide might occur could not only save millions of dollars in potential damage but also lives.
So this new methodology coming out of Brazil is undoubtedly welcome news. According to Phys.org, "the expectation is that the new methodology will be ready by the end of 2025, so that policymakers and planners can use it to map landslide-prone areas … more comprehensively."
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