Abstract. The paper presents a methodology for relative damage assessment for historical landslide events, i.e. periods during which damage caused by rainfall-triggered landslides affected wide areas. The approach requires a minimum amount of data, and it is based on the assessment of direct, indirect and intangible damage indices at municipal and regional scale. An application to major events which occurred in Calabria (Italy) highlighted roads as the most vulnerable element, even representing the source of intangible damage for people forced to use alternative roads for their daily activities. Indirect costs seem mainly tied to displacement of people even for short periods.