Hyperconcentrated flow susceptibility analysis and zoning at medium scale: Methodological approach and case study

A methodological approach for the susceptibility analysis and zoning, at medium scale, of hyperconcentrated flows is presented. The adopted procedure comprises the following steps: (1) collection of data useful to acquire detailed knowledge of the slope processes leading to flow-like mass movements in the site; (2) hyperconcentrated flow susceptibility analyses via heuristic and statistic procedures; (3) hyperconcentrated flow susceptibility zoning (1:25,000 scale) at a preliminary/intermediate level. The procedure is applied to the test site of Monte Albino, (southern Italy), which extends over an area of around 400 ha. The obtained results emphasize the potential of an approach which moves from preliminary to intermediate level of susceptibility zoning. The results also highlight the important role played by the combined use of different procedures, based on heuristic and statistical models, in defining a standardised criterion to be adopted in problems dealing with the analysis and zoning of susceptibility to hyperconcentrated flows. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.