CONSENSUS STRATEGIES TO ACQUIRE ACCURATE LANDSLIDE DAMAGE COST DATA AND APPLY INSIGHTS TO MITIGATION

The proposed USGS National Landslide Hazard Mitigation Program, developed in collaboration with state geological surveys, and the consulting and academic communities, provides an opportunity to diminish future landslide losses. Documenting the rate of vulnerability increases through time and correlations of loss with meteorological and terrain conditions are important to developing awareness and mitigation strategies. With US Geological Survey support, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Nebraska, Utah, Oregon, and California state geological surveys participated in a pilot project to assess sources, reliability, and availability of landslide loss information. In a recent workshop, state participants conferred with Geological Survey of Canada and US Geological Survey investigators and land-use planners to identify experience-based strategies to acquire more complete and accurate landslide loss data. The group has proposed: 1. standardized definitions for direct and indirect losses; 2. a list of the highest priority indirect loss subcategory data needs, such as business and transportation interruptions, to better understand this inadequately studied category. Recommended strategies of the group include: 1. using reliable existing retrospective studies and undertaking several new retrospective investigations to test the feasibility of sampling categories of direct and indirect losses and successfully extrapolating derived values to less documented locations with similar conditions; 2. a standardized data entry format to record losses for consistency in comparing and aggregating data from different investigators; 3. a data-recovery protocol with standardized landslide and landslide loss terminologies for use by federal, state, and local agencies, and private parties serving as data sources; 4. important incentives for data collection communicated to key individuals in landslide-prone regions to justify commitment to collaborate in future loss investigations; and 5. prospective data collecting pilot projects to be undertaken in selected landslide regions where knowledgeable local officials can employ existing on-line electronic data processing of new construction and remodeling permit applications to retrieve landslide-related direct costs of replacement and repair.