Page 184 - Çevre Şehir ve İklim Dergisi İngilizce - Özel Sayı

Determination of Potential Avalanche Release Areas, Avalanche Mobile Application and
Preparation of Avalanche Hazard Maps in Türkiye; the Case of Palandöken Ski Centre

4. Conclusions and Suggestions

The preparation process of the avalanche hazard map in Erzurum
Palandöken Ski Resort in our country started with the detection of active and
potential avalanche starting zones. For this purpose, a total of 1,779 hectares
of potential and active avalanche starting zones were identified within a
15,335-hectare study area as a result of work and field observations conducted
using an algorithm developed for the automatic detection of potential
avalanche starting zones in the designated study area, as well as on-site
observation studies. After active and potential avalanche starting zones were
identified, analyses were made for identifying the boundaries of avalanche
runout and accumulation zones through the use of RAMMS software, and
avalanche runout and accumulation zones (6.605 ha) were determined.
Later, these areas were combined to produce an avalanche hazard map for
Palandöken Ski Resort.
Although avalanches are a serious issue in Türkiye, there is not a institution
that records these events, documents them, determine their boundaries or
make the necessary measurements and analyses. Therefore, except for a few
recorded events that resulted in deaths, injuries or economic loss, there is a
lack of an up-to-date avalanche database. This situation results from the lack
of avalanche hazard maps that provide information about the magnitude and
potential and area extent of past avalanche events, which requires accurate
detection of hazard areas for determining avalanche hazard conditions and
land-use planning. As a result of the evaluations conducted, the avalanche
hazard has been identified as serious for the Gendarmerie station. It was
detected that avalanche pressure that directly reaches the Gendarmerie
station is 80 kPa, while its speed can reach 17 m/hr and its elevation may
reach 14 meters. Indeed, the avalanche that occurred on January 18th, 2016
damaged the cafeteria of the Gendarmerie station and led to the injury of a
soldier. These findings reveal that future avalanche events may lead to more
severe results than the avalanche event in 2016. The analyses conducted with
a focus on hotels revealed the pressure to be 264 kPa, the speed to be 29 m/
hr, and the avalanche elevation to reach 4.6 meters. These findings clearly
indicate that the hotels are under serious risk of avalanche.
In conclusion, the avalanche hazard mapping conducted in Palandöken Ski
Resort plays a critical role in mitigating avalanche risk and taking effective
measures against such natural disasters. The use of such maps in planning
the infrastructure and superstructure investments for the settlements in the
regions, tourism facilities, facility roads, ski slopes, cable car and chairlift
lines, and mitigating the impacts of natural disasters is of great importance in
preventing future potential issues.

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Special Issue / 2024