Photogeologic Documentation of Mass Wasting Hazard Zones, The Application of Geological Common Sense

Carlo D. Dayanghirang¹ and Ricarte S. Javelosa Ph D²

¹ MSc. Quaternary Geology, EMB Accredited Environmental Professional
²Mines & Geo-Sciences Bureau

Abstract

Mass wasting is a geological process that becomes a hazard if it has the potential to affect life or property. As a process, mass wasting provides features of its occurrence that can easily be identified. Mass wasting do not just happen. They are disasters waiting to happen and commonly occur on areas where it had occurred before or induced by anthropological changes such as slope cutting. The identification of the features related to mass wasting is the basic requirement to delineate potential hazard zones.

This paper presents simple approach in the presentation of mass wasting related data specifically to people with no geological background with the aid of annotated site specific photographs. Comprehensible information conveyed to decision makers can help forewarn people in harms way of hazard poised by mass wasting thus avert unnecessary loss of life.