Rainfall-induced slope instabilities in pyroclastic soils: The case study of Mount Albino (Campania region, southern Italy)

This paper shows the results of a research aimed at analyzing the susceptibility and hazard, at the source areas, of slope instabilities involving shallow deposits of pyroclastic soils and characterised by own triggering mechanisms. This goal is pursued - at large scale (1:5,000) - with reference to Mount Albino, a carbonatic relief prone to different types of rainfall-induced slope instabilities (i.e., hyperconcentrated flows, debris flows and debris avalanches) which threaten the municipality of Nocera Inferiore (Campania region, southern Italy). In particular, susceptibility and hazard analyses specifically deal with the hyperconcentrated flows and are carried out via the use of heuristic and deterministic procedures thanks to the availability of geological and geomorphological information as well as data on both stratigraphic settings and geotechnical characteristics of potentially involved pyroclastic soils. The results highlight the role played by the above predisposing factors along with the conditions characterising the boundary-value problem at hand on the triggering mechanisms whose proper modelling is fundamental for a suitable assessment of the source volumes which can be mobilized during critical rainfalls.