Events Calendar

CPD points: 1.0

About

Landslides are one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most costly natural hazards. Causing an estimated $250-300 million in damages each year. Cyclone Gabrielle, and the recent Bay of Plenty and East Coast storms have highlighted their destructive potential. Alongside risks to life, assets, and infrastructure, landslides can deliver large volumes of sediment to river systems, impacting critical habitat and biodiversity. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events that can trigger landslides. In response to this we have developed a relatively high resolution (25m) rainfall-induced landslide (RIL) susceptibility model, utilising machine learning and a training data set of observed landslides after Cyclone Gabrielle. The trained model is then applied nationally, to identify RIL susceptible areas under several different storm (extreme event) scenarios and climate futures. It is suitable for screening assessments and to inform understanding of how exposure may change in the future. I will present an overview of how the model was created, what the datasets look like, and how they can be used to inform decision making.

Presented by Dr Oliver Wigmore

Dr Oliver Wigmore is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington and a Senior Technical Advisor at the Department of Conservation. His research broadly focuses on the use of remote sensing technologies, spatial data analysis, and increasingly machine learning to understand dynamic earth system processes, environmental change, and the impacts of climate change.