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NEWSP was established in 2015 (SUNAR) as part of the CNRS-L

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Landslide

Landslides are one of the natural hazards and the most severe geological hazards that cause many fatalities and property damage across the world. Lebanon is considered one of the countries most susceptible to these types of landslides. Estimations over the last 40 years indicate that mass movements cost each year 10-15 million US dollars in Lebanon (considered as a small country), with numerous fatalities and injuries (Abdallah, 2007; Khawlie, 2000). The climatic, human, engineering, and geological parameters are acting simultaneously towards aggravating landslides’ impact in Lebanon. Cracks in houses and roads, destruction of agricultural terraces, and scarps of different sizes are common consequences of landslide occurrences. Despite the negative impacts of landslides, appropriate management plans are non-existent. Neither a risk map exists nor have strategies yet been formulated in the country for this purpose. Moreover, the lack of awareness of local populations clearly reflects a misunderstanding of the potential risks, and the carelessness of the contractors in implementing geotechnical site analysis may raise the damage costs. In addition, there is a lack of legislative prevention measures for engineering firms that tend to apply minor and local mitigation measures at specific sites (Abdallah, 2012).

In the last storms extended from January till February 2024, Lebanon has witnessed around 70 debris and rockfalls that have led to many economic damages like collapses in buildings, and main roads, car accidents, injuries, and village isolation, etc. The major mass movement was the one that occurred in Dahr al-Baydar International Road as a consequence, the road was closed for hours. This is the result of two major causes: torrential rains and the nature of the soil which has played an essential role in this dangerous landslide.

NEWSP mapped around 10,000 different types of landslides in the country through visual interpretation of satellite imageries and published in 2010 the Landslide Susceptibility/Hazard maps at the scale of 1/ 50,000. These maps were based on the Binary-Univariate statistical approaches that explored objectively the dual relationship between 17 terrain parameters according to their importance in causing landslides (high slopes, lithology, karst, slope aspects, faults, road opening, quarries, etc.). These maps can facilitate the required restoration for damaged locations due to landslides and help prevent any destructive events in the future.
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