Natural Hazard Assessment for Land-use Planning in Serbia

The territory of Serbia is vulnerable to various types of natural hazards and the risk is not equal across the entire territory; it varies depending on the type of hazard and the expected potential for damage. The first aim of this research was to determine the geographical distributions of the major types of natural hazards. Seismic hazards, landslides, rock falls, floods, torrential floods, excessive erosion, droughts and forest fires are the most significant natural hazards within the territory of Serbia. Areas vulnerable to some of these natural hazards were singled out using analytical maps; their area relative to the total area of Serbia was defined, along with the total surface area that is vulnerable to each type of natural hazard. Upper intensity values for single natural hazards were measured; these values represent the limiting factor for land-use planning at the given level. Based on these analyses, an integral map of the natural hazards of the territory was created using multi-hazard assessment. Hence, a recent state of the natural hazard vulnerabilities of the territory of Serbia was created and then an integral map was made. The integral map showed spatial distribution of the different types of hazards that are considered to be limiting factors for the highest level of land-use planning. The results presented in this article are the first multi-hazard assessment and the first version of the integral map of natural hazards distribution in Serbia for land-use planning, which is important both nationally and regionally.