ABSTRACT
Disaster researchers generally distinguish between hazards and disasters by emphasising that the frequently catastrophic impacts of hazards depend on much more than merely their physical characteristics. Hazards are often understood as physical and natural processes, like landslides, although they can also be caused by man-made processes of environmental degradation. During field observations carried out by the Colombian Geological Survey on the spot, an eight-meter-long fault was detected which was considered indicative of a previous mass movement in the area. According to the Colombian Geological Survey, the geomorphology of the Aponte urban area is characterised by an approx. 1,800-meter-long elongated cone at 2,400 meters altitude, with staggered soil deformations and undulations registered topographically in the highest sector. At the time of the field expedition, a range of explanatory models existed for the cause and origin of the geological phenomenon affecting Aponte.
