Meteoric precipitations and slope instability in the mediterranean environment

A long and intense international research activity has by now confirmed the basic role of atmospheric precipitations on the dynamics of landslides. This paper is within the framework of such an activity and describes how solid and liquid meteoric precipitations really affect landslides. A detailed study of the empirical hydrological methods aimed at the determination of exceptional meteoric events to be correlated with landslide is performed. Finally, based on the analysis of real cases occurred in the Mediterranean environment, the opportunities offered by such an approach are discussed.