Landslides are processes that lead to naturaldisasters or technical failures, the consequences of which threaten life,health and property of people. In the classification of natural disasters andhazards that occur all over the world, landslides are in the fifth place, bothas far as number of casualties and material as well financial losses areconcerned.  Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the risk seems to be a very importantissue in preventing effects of this natural disasters. This article willtherefore discuss the causes of landslides with their classification andseveral examples of landslides and damage caused by them in the world andlocally in Poland. There also will be given compounds of occurrence oflandslides associated with climate changes, as well as geological andanthropogenic factors. There will be shown the methods of assessment of risk incase of landslide threat. Therisk analysis developed will be presented for selected landslides locatedin Subcarpathian province of Poland. The widespread occurrence of landslides in  Subcarpathian province determines thepresence of the substrate made of flysch. The vulnerability of the system ofthe slopes on landslides is mostly dependent on the varying slope internalconditions. Such propertiesas the angle of slope, the thickness of colluvium, the presence of olderlandslide activity, and also dislocations mostly determine the probability oflandslides.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/enviro.2017.049