Risks assessment in the karstic environment of the limestone plateau, Ghanayim city, Asyut government, Egypt

• Risks assessment at the construction site of Ghanayim railway station. • Remote sensing approach was used to assess the rainwater harvesting potential, and then the associated hazard level. • Ground penetrating radar technology has been applied to illustrate the shallow subsurface layers and their expected risky karstic characteristics. • A final potential map to the expected caverns has been illustrated, providing valuable information for decision-making. The karstic phenomenon is a challenging environment for geotechnical engineers and construction companies due to its risky characteristics, such as weakness, fragility, and cavernous areas. A simple, untraditional, and more accurate integrated approach involving remote sensing, geographic information systems, and ground penetrating radar technologies was used to hold the risky karstic features and evaluate the soil stability before any construction process at the construction site of the train station of Al Ghanayim city, Asyut, Egypt. The remote sensing approach focused on evaluating the topographic features of wadi Sarga watershed, hydro-morphometric parameters of its sub-watersheds, and its drainage network, to assess the rainwater harvesting potential. And then the associated hazard level has been calculated, indicating the construction area is of high hazard degree, so the ground penetrating radar technology has been applied to illustrate the shallow subsurface layers and their expected risky karstic characteristics. As a result, a final potential map of the expected caverns has been illustrated with their positions and depths, providing valuable information to help in making a suitable decision in the treatment process. The applied approach can be followed in similar karstic environments to illustrate and imagine any environmental hazards (ex., caves), and to avoid any future disaster that may put people’s lives in danger.