Since both socio-economic and climatic factors are contributing to a significant increase in losses associated with natural hazards (including snow avalanches), decision makers and managers are striving to apply the most robust and user friendly models for the vulnerability assessment, reconstruction and rehabilitation of different structures affected by the given hazard. Remote sensing-based and other modern methodologies allow the identification of terrains most susceptible to avalanches. The obtained results indicated that a total of 810,000 large avalanches occurred since 1990 within an area of 28,500 km 2 with a mean frequency of 0.88 avalanches/km²yr −1, damaging villages and blocking roads and streams.
provided snow avalanche frequency estimation by using 32 years of remote sensing data in Afghanistan. performed an analysis mainly related to the snow properties (with high potential to cause snow avalanches) in northwestern High Mountain Asia (regions in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan) by using the numerical snow cover modeling.
ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS 3 LEVELS SOFTWARE
assessed avalanche situation in Türkiye by examining the proportion of avalanche fatalities and using the numerical avalanche simulation software RAMMS and DEM (digital elevation model). By using the Avalanches Potential Index method authors indicated that favorable conditions for the formation of avalanches occur within the 9.1 km 2 of the municipality area (in southern and western parts of the analyzed municipality). These authors partly outlined the problems associated with snow avalanches. performed multi-hazard susceptibility assessment for the municipality of Štrpce (Southern Serbia, Western Balkans), an area located within the Šar Mountain National Park. Respective authors used numerical and GIS-based methods to delineate forests with protective function against avalanches.ĭurlević et al.
Gruber and Bartelt performed snow avalanche hazard modeling over the mountainous region of Switzerland. analyzed avalanche data from three different ski resorts in the vicinity of Davos, Switzerland by using an object-based approach for large-scale hazard indication mapping thus opening the door for large-scale avalanche hazard indication mapping in all regions where high-quality and high-resolution digital terrain models and snow data are available. reconstructed the snow avalanches of the Coll de Pal area in SE Pyrenees range by utilizing approaches such as field recognition, snow and weather characterization and numerical modeling. performed an in-depth analysis of the snow avalanche risk within the Král’ova Hol’a area (Low Tatra Mountains in Slovakia) by modeling the trigger areas and simulating avalanche movements and their maximum impact by using GIS and the RAMMS simulation model. examined the existing relationships between climate extremization and environmental risk in a mass-movement prone area of Prati di Tivo area (Italy) and provided tools for civil protection activities and territorial planning in accordance with emergency management and mitigation measures. These worldwide studies of snow avalanches considers this type of hazard in a rather multidisciplinary way, combining the data associated with regional climatic conditions with advanced methods in remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) methods. This is the first research in the Republic of Serbia that deals with GIS-AHP spatial modeling of snow avalanches, and methodology and criteria used in this study can be tested in other high mountainous regions. The obtained data can will help local self-governments, emergency management services, and mountaineering services to mitigate human and material losses from the snow avalanches. Based on the results, settlements where avalanche protection measures should be applied have been singled out. The results showed that approximately 20% of the investigated area is highly susceptible to avalanches and that 24% of the area has a medium susceptibility. Five indicators (lithological, geomorphological, hydrological, vegetation, and climatic) were processed, where 14 criteria were analyzed. The prediction of avalanches in this study is based on the use of geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and multicriteria analysis-analytic hierarchy process (AHP) on the territory of the Šar Mountains (Serbia). The complex process of modeling terrain susceptibility requires the application of modern methods and software.
Snow avalanches are one of the most devastating natural hazards in the highlands that often cause human casualties and economic losses.