Natural Hazards and Earth System Science www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net 1561-8633 1684-9981 3 1/2 2003 10.5194/nhess-3-3-2003 http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/3/3/2003/ http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/3/3/2003/nhess-3-3-2003.html http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/3/3/2003/nhess-3-3-2003.pdf 3 16 0000-00-00 Combining historical and geological data for the assessment of the landslide hazard: a case study from Campania, Italy D. Calcaterra M. Parise B. Palma Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Section of Applied Geology, Federico II University of Naples, Italy National Research Council – CERIST, Bari, Italy Vico Equense, Naples, Italy Past slope instabilities at Quindici (one of the five towns of Campania that was hit by catastrophic landslides on 5 May 1998) and in the Lauro Valley are investigated to improve the understanding of the landslide history in the area, as a mandatory step for the evaluation of the landslide hazard. The research was performed by combining information on past slope instabilities from both historical and geological data. From numerous historical sources an archive consisting of 45 landsliding and flooding events for the period 1632–1998 was compiled. Landslide activity was also investigated by means of interpretation of multi-year sets of aerial photos, production of Landslide Activity Maps, and excavation of trenches on the alluvial fans at the mountain foothills. Detailed stratigraphic analysis of the sections exposed in the trenches identified landslide events as the main geomorphic process responsible for building up the fans in the study area. Integration of historical and geological approaches provides significant insight into past and recent instability at Quindici. This is particularly valuable in view of the limitations of individual sources of information. Application of such an approach offers potential for improved hazard assessment and risk mitigation.