Co-convener: Dr. Earl E. Brabb
International Landslide Research Group
3262 Ross road
94303 Palo Alto, California
E-mail: ilrg@mindspring.com

 Scope of the meeting

Mass movements can kill people and cause extensive damage when they occur in urban areas and along roads or rails. The social and economic significance of landslides is still largely underestimated, particularly in the urban and sub-urban areas that have grown dramatically without proper, if any, planning. Large storms, rapid snow melting and earthquakes can trigger widespread landslides that can cause extensive damage to the transportation network, blocking it at several points and limiting rescue efforts. Single landslides can cut aqueducts, pipelines or roads damaging the economy of a region or even an entire nation.

Main topics will include:

1. Preparation of suitable landslide hazard anr risk maps
2. Warning and allarm systems
3. Investigation techniques and tools
4. Type of information needed vs the information available
5. Action taken by decision makers in response to hazar/risk mapping
6. Case histories
7. ....

Goals of the open forum

The forum is intended to stimulate an open discussion on the subject of the symposium as well as on any other closely related subject before the date of the symposium. We hope in this way to disseminate information and to stimulate a discussion that will hopefully contribute to a better and more fruitfull symposium. Individuals intersted in these (or related) arguments are strongly invited to contribute to the discussion. Any comment, idea, suggestion or criticism on the symposium or on any single contribution presented on these pages should be addressed to the convener as well as to all the partecipants that provided an e-mail address.