NATURAL HAZARDS AND DISASTERS IN MOUNTAIN AREAS

Abstract

Mountainous and coastal areas are the most affected regions for natural hazards. Certain mountainous areas are vulnerable to landslides but have also been affected by earthquakes. When an earthquake occurs in such areas, the risks for a landslide to occur grow tremendously. Natural hazards cause huge damage in the world and kill many people each year. The concept of natural risk can be successfully used for natural hazards analysis and reduction. Mountain and foothill areas of Northern Caucasus are located in the zone of alpine tectonomagmatic activation of Greater Caucasus and they characterized by intense geodynamic processes, the presence of active volcanoes, pulsating glaciers high seismicity (9-10 points) and broadest development of geohazards with different genetic types. The problem of seismic hazard and risk assessment of the North Caucasus is genetically related to the activity of the Greater Caucasus, the strongest seismic events of which play a determining role for some regions of the North Caucasus.