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Landslide impacts in Germany: A historical and socioeconomic perspective

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Abstract

Landslide impacts on infrastructure and society in the Federal Republic of Germany are associated with damage costs of about US$300 million on annual average. Despite the large overall losses due to widespread landslide activity, there is a lack of historical impact assessments, not just for Germany’s low mountain areas but those of entire Central Europe as well. This paper is a collection of three case studies from Germany that seek a better understanding of landslide impacts and their economic relevance at local and regional level. The first case study investigates damage types and mitigation measures at a representative landslide site in ways that support to gain insight into historical hazard interactions with land use practices. This case history is followed by a case study dealing with fiscal cost impacts of landslide damages for an example city and the highway system of the Lower Saxon Uplands, NW Germany. In addition to a cost-burden analysis for affected public budgets, an overview of the principles of disaster financing in landslide practice is given. The third case study is focused on the conflicts of urban development in hazard areas, with an economic approach to balancing safety and public welfare interests. Each case study is based on historical data sets extracted from Germany’s national landslide database. This paper presents three different case studies that in combination are a first step towards assessing landslide impacts in integrated perspective.

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Acknowledgments

This research project was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG DA 452/6-1). The funding of the project is gratefully acknowledged. Financial support was also given by the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony (MWK Niedersachsen 11.2-76202-10-1/07) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD D/12/45096). The authors very much appreciate the funding received from these institutions. Thanks are also due to the Lower Saxony Department of Transportation (NLStBV) and the municipal office of Hann. Münden for the fruitful collaboration over the past years.

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  1. Department II - Applied Physical Geography, University of Vechta, Driverstraße 22, 49377, Vechta, Germany

    Martin Klose & Bodo Damm

  2. Institute of Geography, University of Osnabrück, Seminarstraße 19ab, 49074, Osnabrück, Germany

    Philipp Maurischat

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  1. Martin Klose
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Correspondence to Martin Klose.

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Klose, M., Maurischat, P. & Damm, B. Landslide impacts in Germany: A historical and socioeconomic perspective. Landslides 13, 183–199 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-015-0643-9

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