Researchers from the laboratories of geomorphology and paleogeography, as well as landscape science and landscape planning of the Institute of Geography under the Ministry of Science and Education, were dispatched to the Qusar and Quba districts to investigate the consequences of landslide and debris-flow processes caused by intense precipitation.

      According to Senior Researcher, PhD in Geography, Associate Professor Stara Tarikhazar, field studies revealed large-scale landslides in the villages of Jagar, Kuzun, Gidjanoba, Ajakhur, Laza, and other settlements. In the village of Jagar, which has a population of approximately 400 people, the landslide mass has advanced close to residential buildings, posing a serious threat to one of the houses. Cracks exceeding 1.5 meters in depth have been recorded in the area, and the landslide process remains active. Additionally, a rockfall in the same village threatens to damage a local resident’s household plot.

In the villages of Kuzun, Gidjanoba, and Ajakhur, several residential buildings are located within landslide-prone zones. The автомобиль road leading to Laza village has been damaged, with its asphalt surface severely deteriorated. The road connecting the villages of Piral and Yasab, which serves 21 settlements, has also been affected. Road infrastructure in the villages of Upper Tahirjal, Upper Gelankhur, Lower Gelankhur, and Zukhul has been damaged by landslides, while gravel roads in Zindanmurug and Chatkin have suffered significant deterioration. Two active landslide zones have been identified along the highway in the direction of Shahdag.

        In the Qusar district, internal roads in the villages of Kuzun, Enig, Khuray, Jagar, Chatkin, Khik, Mujug, Upper Tahirjal, and Zukhul have been washed away by debris flows and rendered unusable. Bridges in the villages of Suvajal, Gunduzgala, Enig, and Mujug are in аварийное состояние (emergency condition) and are unfit for use.

     Monitoring was also conducted along the Quba–Gonagkend highway in the Quba district. This 46-kilometer road belongs to technical categories III–IV and connects 25 settlements with a total population exceeding 11,000 people. Heavy and prolonged rainfall has triggered numerous large-scale landslides.

It was noted that the region has all the natural conditions necessary for the development of hazardous exodynamic processes. The formation of modern landslide, landslide–rockfall, and rockfall landforms in the Quba–Qusar zone is associated with the differentiated nature of neotectonic movements and the predominance of clay-rich rocks.

      Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the widespread occurrence of landslides is due to the presence of limestones, clays, sandstones, and clay shales, as well as the complex tectonic structure of the area, a high degree of rock fracturing, the development of active faults and thrusts, abundant atmospheric precipitation, and regional seismic activity. The most common processes are landslides and landslide–flow (debris-flow) formations. Most landslides are confined to the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Main Range and to the slopes of structural–erosional mountains, which is explained by the layered structure of rocks composed mainly of clays and limestones.