Climate change brings with it phenomena such as large amounts of rainfall in short periods. Infiltration of rainwater into clayey soils is a common trigger for shallow landslides on slopes. In this way, numerous shallow landslides occur in the area of northern Croatia, and a characteristic example is the landslide “Orehovčak”. To stop the sliding of the destabilized slope, it was necessary to solve the drainage of water that infiltrates the landslide body. For this purpose, detailed geotechnical investigations and monitoring were conducted. Many data were collected at the investigation site, especially soil characteristics and groundwater fluctuations. The surface soil on the slope consists of highly plastic clay, and the sliding surface was created in contact with the solid subsoil of marl, the depth of which varies positionally. The analyses confirmed that water is a slip trigger. To solve the problem, excavations and installation of deep drains were performed. The slope safety factor confirms landslide stabilization, whose calculated value after rehabilitation was Fs = 1.645. Inclinometer readings carried out after remediation show that slope slippage stopped. This confirms that the presented remediation method is very applicable to shallow landslides in northern Croatia and similar landslides around the world.

This study investigates five cases of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill slope failures in the USA, China, Sri Lanka, and Greece, with the aim of assessing the safety margins and reliability of these slopes. The stability and reliability of the landfill slopes were evaluated under both static and seismic loading conditions, using pre-failure geometries and geotechnical data, with analyses conducted in accordance with Eurocode 7, employing all three design approaches. Under static loading, the factors of safety were close to unity, and reliability indexes ranged from 1.0 to 2.8, both falling below the recommended values set by Eurocode. The landfill slopes failed to meet the stability criteria in Design Approaches 2 and 3, while in Design Approach 1, four out of five landfills met the criteria. Under seismic conditions, safety factors and reliability indexes were significantly lower than the prescribed criteria in all analyses. Sensitivity analyses revealed that in two cases, unit weight and friction angle were the dominant parameters, while cohesion was the dominant parameter in one case. The findings of this study underscore the importance of establishing minimum design requirements for MSW landfill slope stability to mitigate potential risks to public health and the environment.

A series of earthquakes that commenced on December 28, 2020, resulted in extensive material damage within a 50-60 km radius from the epicenter, located near the City of Petrinja. Due to the significant structural damage sustained by the building of Petrinja Primary School I, a decision was made to construct a new school building. The construction of the new school began in 2022 and was completed in 2023. This study presents the findings of geotechnical investigations conducted at the site of the new school, which included five static cone penetration tests (CPTu), two dynamic probing heavy tests (DPH), one Marchetti dilatometer test (DMT), and two profiles of multi-channel analysis of surface waves (MASW). The geotechnical investigations resulted in the development of a soil profile consisting of eight distinct zones. Recommendations for the foundation design of the new building have been provided, alongside an assessment of the risk of soil liquefaction. The potential for liquefaction has been identified within zone 4, which comprises clayey sands at depths ranging from 4 to 6 meters.

In recent years, the lack of construction land in attractive locations, especially in urban areas, has posed increasing challenges to designers and builders. That is why projects for the construction pit protection and ensuring the permanent slopes stability are increasingly present in geotechnical engineering. This paper presents a practical example from the initial phase of the commercial building construction in a rock cut at the entrance to Vrbnik, island of Krk. Due to the lack of construction space, and the floor plan placement of the building itself and accompanying contents, the construction project planned the implementation of an almost vertical rock slope in the background of the main object. To be able to propose a conceptual solution that would ensure the permanent stability of the mentioned rock slope, during the excavation phase of the construction pit (cut), a geodetic survey of the found condition and a geotechnical-geological prospecting of the rock mass were performed. The purpose of the investigation was to determine the condition of the slope, along with detecting the quality zones of the rock mass according to different engineering classifications, and with the aim of proposing techniques that need to protect certain parts of the slope. As proof of the permanent stability of the slope, for the established parameters of the rock mass and the proposed geometry and protection techniques, a stability analysis was carried out for characteristic cross-sections.