11. What should be done in the case of a landslide?

In the case of a landslide, you can be in different positions: over the moving material or in front of the moving material that come towards you. You can also arrive by car in a place which has been hit by a landslide. In most of the cases, especially if you are in front of a big landslide there is very little that can be done but there is some general advice, useful in case of any natural hazard, that can be precious even in such a situation. In some cases, schools are highly threatened by landslide hazard and they can be useful, through school drills, to test the good reactions as listed below:

  • Prior to the event
    Try to learn whether landslides have occurred in your area by contacting Public Administration Offices and contact your local Civil Protection to learn about the emergency response and evacuation plans for your area and prepare your own emergency plans.
  • During the event
    1. If you are inside a building (for example in the classroom):
      a) don’t rush outside, stay where you are;
      b) take shelter under a table, below the architrave, or near the bearing walls;
      c) don’t use lifts;
      d) stay away from windows, doors with glass and cupboards.
    2. If you are outdoors:
      a) Move away from buildings, trees, streetlights, electric cables and telephone line;
      b) don’t walk or drive along a road where a landslide has recently occurred;
      c) Don’t venture out on a landslide body; d) Do not enter inside houses involved in a landslides before a thorough assessment by experts.

“Civil protection in family”: a booklet edited by the Italian Civil Protection containing the instruction about “what to do” in case of disasters.

  • Prior to the event
Become familiar with the land around you. Try to learn whether landslides have occurred in your area by contacting Public Administration Offices and/or Earth Sciences Departments of the nearest University. Contact your local Civil Protection to learn about the emergency response and evacuations plans for your area and prepare your own emergency plans.
  • During the event
– If you are inside a building (for example in the classroom)
Don’t rush outside, stay where you are. By staying inside the building you are more protected than outside.
Take shelter under a table, below the architrave, or near the bearing walls. They protect you from possible cave – ins.
Stay  away from windows,  doors with glass and cupboards. They could fall and hurt you.
Don’t use lifts. They could get stuck and prevent you from exiting. Help the other people around you. Maybe there are some people hurt or even disabled or people that are in trouble to move by themselves. Remember to help them to go out of the building when it will be safe the exit.
– If you are outdoors
Move away from buildings, trees, streetlights, electric cables and telephone lines. They could fall down and  hurt you.
Don’t walk or drive along a road where a landslide has recently occured. It is instable material that could start moving again.
Don’t venture out  on a landslide body. The material of a landslide, even if stable in appearance, can hide dangerous underlying holes.
Do not enter inside houses involved in a landslides before a thorough assessment by experts. They could have sustained structural damage and be unsafe.
References: drawings taken from “Protezione Civile in Famiglia”, Dipartimento di Protezione Civile (2005), Italy (Download at: www.protezionecivile.it):