General Public Quiz

Introduction

This module is directed towards members of the general public of Australia, with particular relevance to those interested in the potential impact of landslide events upon themselves, or upon their property.

This module is particularly to provide a broad introduction to the philosophy and concepts embedded within the broad topic of risk management as it applies to landslides within Australia.

This module is applicable to you if you:

Are involved with a building development within a local government area that is prone to landslide events (of one form or another) and are required to have a landslide risk assessment conducted prior to gaining building approval; or
Are adjacent to (beside, above or below) a proposed development which requires a landslide risk assessment prior to its approval, and you are therefore an interested party; or
You are aware of landslide hazards within public property; or
You are interested in the topic in general terms;

The format of this module is a series of questions to step you through the concepts involved in Landslide Risk management (LRM) and to familiarise you with the terminology and jargon that you may encounter.

Instructions

Multiple choice answers are provided. If you are not sure which answer may be correct, then click HINT next and further information will be provided to assist you. You can test your understanding by selecting an answer to see if you are correct or learn why your choice was not. If you chose the correct answer, you can either read the detailed answer or skip to the next question. Each detailed answer provides further links to more resources, such as video explanations, presentations or PDF extracts from guidelines that have been developed by the Australian Geomechanics Society. Further topics are discussed by FAQ pages which pose a series of questions and then give further explanations.

AGS 2007 LRM Guidelines Australian Geoguide

At any time during this module, feel free to launch the guideline PDF’s to research your answers, or simply to give yourself a refresher on Landslide Risk Management.

LRM Guidelines

Question 2 of 10

2. Why is a potential or existing landslide of importance to me as a home occupier or user of the property?

because of the potential damage to my property
though insurance cover is available in New Zealand, because insurance cover for landslides is not available in Australia, the consequences of a landslide can be financially crippling
because of the potential loss of life
all of the above

Why is a potential or existing landslide of importance to me as a home occupier or user of the property?

2. Why is a potential or existing landslide of importance to me as a home occupier or user of the property?

Cost of landslides throughout Australia, refer to Geoscience Australia “Natural Hazards in Australia”, Chapter 8, “Landslides” for information on the cost of landslides to the Australian community.

http://www.ga.gov.au/hazards/our-capabilities/case-studies/natural-hazards-in-australia-report.html

https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&catno=65444

There can be a severe impact upon you personally as a financial burden in the event of a landslide occurring upon your property or as a consequence of a landslide occurring either above, below or to the side of your property that adversely impacts upon your property. Given that there is no insurance cover exists in Australia for landslides (unlike NZ) — perhaps you should make your opinion known.

If you are forewarned of a potential landslide on your property or abutting your property that could impact upon your property, yourself, your family or others upon your property, you can act to reduce, minimise or remove the impacts of such potential landslides.

It is also noted that to manage landslide likelihood during the development process is usually quite feasible, whether it is your development or that of your neighbours. The scenario of landslide impact from government owned property can also be managed once the scenario is established forewarned is forearmed, after all.

It is vital to recognise that the important feature is the consequences in the event of a landslide event ? not the cost of the development, but the cost of the consequences and that the consideration of consequences should include not only property but also injury and loss of life. In the case of property damage, it is also important to appreciate that the cost of a landslide event can be in excess of the value of the property itself, should the landslide transgress property boundaries.