This book reviews the state of the art of natural disasters like floods and landslides, highlighting the possibility of safe and correct land planning and management by means of a global approach to territory. In fact, the events deriving from slope dynamics (gravitational phenomena) and fluvial dynamics (floods) are commonly triggered by the same factor (heavy rainfall), occur at the same time and are closely related. For this reason, this book analyses floods and slope stability phenomena as different aspects of the same dynamic system: the drainage basin.

Scientific reserach on natural disasters is now implementing new methodologies and aproaches as consequences of: 1. mutating impact of extreme natural events in response to societal change like land use, lifelines, communications, transportation, etc.; 2. development which claim for new urban and industrial territories, often in hazard prone areas; 3. impact of modern society on natural climate variability (climate change) and con sequently, on spatial and temporal frequency of extreme events related to hydro logical cycle. As consequence of the above mentioned items it is necessary to...