Risk analysis of natural sinkholes hazards in Karapınar basin (Konya, Turkey)

Karapınar is the most important basin located in Central Anatolia of Turkey due to its fertile farmland, commercial highways, important coal reserves, and solar power plants. However, it suffers from sinkholes due to its geological, geomorphological, hydrogeological, anthropogenic characteristics, and human activities such as agricultural, mining, and military shooting activities. The Karapınar basin is the most active karstic area due to the development of sinkholes in Turkey. The rapid development of sinkholes around the Karapınar in the last two decades poses a major geological hazard to the local population, agriculture, and industry and threats the public health and safety in Karapınar. The aim of this study is to emphasize risk assessment studies for the prevention and reduction of material and life losses derived from sinkhole hazards. This study has investigated the effect of natural processes and human activities on the development of sinkholes in Karapınar. For this reason, in this study, the hazardous areas posed by sinkholes have been categorized to 7 categories according to the effects on human infrastructure. In this context, various recommendations and countermeasures have been suggested to reduce these environmental risks derived from sinkhole hazards.