The cost of landslide is underestimated in Australia because the impact and loss associated with these events are not readily reported or captured. There is no reliable source of data which highlights landslide cost to communities and explains who currently pays for the impacts and associated costs. The aim of this document is to investigate and analyse landslide costs within a Local Government Area (LGA) in order to highlight the varied landslide associated costs met by the local government, state traffic and rail authorities and the public. It is anticipated this may assist in developing a baseline awareness of the range of landslide costs that are experienced at a local level in Australia.
Local government authorities across Australia are required to manage and mitigate landslide hazards. The Illawarra region of New South Wales (NSW) is one example of an area in Australia continuously affected by slope failure, often resulting in damage to property or infrastructure as well as occasional injuries and fatalities. Landslide losses are described for the region of Wollongong in NSW using a series of case studies to highlight the different types of landslide cost met by different parties, the variations in the landslide types that occur and the different cost components arising from them. This approach was chosen due to variations across the quality, availability and consistency of data.
It was found that many generic natural hazard cost models are inappropriate for determining landslide costs because of the differences in the types of landslide movement and damage. Further work is recommended to develop a cost data model suitable for capturing consistent landslide cost data. Better quantification of landslide cost is essential to allow comparisons to be made with other natural hazard events at appropriate levels. This may allow for more informed policy development and decision making across all levels.
