A seismic landslide susceptibility rating of geologic units based on analysis of characteristics of landslides triggered by the 17 January, 1994 Northridge, California earthquake

One of the most significant effects of the 17 January, 1994 Northridge, California earthquake (M=6.7) was the triggering of thousands of landslides over a broad area. Some of these landslides damaged and destroyed homes and other structures, blocked roads, disrupted pipelines, and caused other serious damage. Analysis of the distribution and characteristics of these landslides is important in understanding what areas may be susceptible to landsliding in future earthquakes. We analyzed the frequency, distribution, and geometries of triggered landslides in the Santa Susana 7.5′ quadrangle, an area of intense seismic landslide activity near the earthquake epicenter. Landslides occurred primarily in young (Late Miocene through Pleistocene) uncemented or very weakly cemented sediment that has been repeatedly folded, faulted, and uplifted in the past 1.5 million years. The most common types of landslide triggered by the earthquake were highly disrupted, shallow falls and slides of rock and debris. Far less numerous were deeper, more coherent slumps and block slides, primarily occurring in more cohesive or competent materials. The landslides in the Santa Susana quadrangle were divided into two samples: single landslides (1502) and landslide complexes (60), which involved multiple coalescing failures of surficial material. We described landslide morphologies by computing simple morphometric parameters (area, length, width, aspect ratio, slope angle). To quantify and rank the relative susceptibility of each geologic unit to seismic landsliding, we calculated two indices: (1) the susceptibility index, which is the ratio (given as a percentage) of the area covered by landslide sources within a geologic unit to the total outcrop area of that unit; and (2) the frequency index [given in landslides per square kilometer (ls/km²)], which is the total number of landslides within each geologic unit divided by the outcrop area of that unit. Susceptibility categories include very high (>2.5% landslide area or >30 ls/km²), high (1.0–2.5% landslide area or 10–30 ls/km²), moderate (0.5–1.0% landslide area or 3–10 ls/km²), and low (<0.5% landslide area and <3 ls/km²).     

Spatial distribution analysis and susceptibility mapping of landslides triggered before and after Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake along Upper Bhote Koshi,Nepal

The 2015 Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake triggered thousands of landslides of various types scattered over a large area. In the current study, we utilized pre- and post-earthquake high-resolution satellite imagery to compile two landslide inventories before and after earthquake and prepared three landslide susceptibility maps within 404 km² area using frequency ratio (FR) model. From the study, we could map about 519 landslides including 178 pre-earthquake slides and 341 coseismic slides were identified. This study investigated the relationship between landslide occurrence and landslide causative factors, i.e., slope, aspect, altitude, plan curvature, lithology, land use, distance from streams, distance from road, distance from faults, and peak ground acceleration. The analysis showed that the majority of landslides both pre-earthquake and coseismic occurred at slope >30°, preferably in S, SE, and SW directions and within altitude ranging from 1000 to 1500 m and 1500 to 3500 m. Scatter plots between number of landslides per km^?2 (LN) and percentage of landslide area (LA) and causative factors indicate that slope is the most influencing factor followed by lithology and PGA for the landslide formation. Higher landslide susceptibility before earthquake is observed along the road and rivers, whereas landslides after earthquake are triggered at steeper slopes and at higher altitudes. Combined susceptibility map indicates the effect of topography, geology, and land cover in the triggering of landslides in the entire basin. The resultant landslide susceptibility maps are verified through AUC showing success rates of 78, 81, and 77%, respectively. These susceptibility maps are helpful for engineers and planners for future development work in the landslide prone area.     

Application of an analytical hierarchical process approach for landslide susceptibility mapping in A Luoi district,Thua Thien Hue Province,Vietnam

A Luoi is a Vietnamese–Laotian border district situated in the western part of Thua Thien Hue province, central Vietnam, where landslides occur frequently and seriously affect local living conditions. This study focuses on the spatial analysis of landslide susceptibility in this 263-km² area. To analyze landslide manifestation in the study area, causative factor maps are derived of slope angle, weathering, land use, geomorphology, fault density, geology, drainage distance, elevation, and precipitation. The analytical hierarchical process approach is used to combine these maps for landslide susceptibility mapping. A landslide susceptibility zonation map with four landslide susceptibility classes, i.e. low, moderate, high, and very high susceptibility for landsliding, is derived based on the correspondence with an inventory of observed landslides. The final map indicates that about 37% of the area is very highly susceptible for landsliding and about 22% is highly susceptible, which means that more than half of the area should be considered prone to landsliding.     

Characteristics and geomorphic effects of earthquake-initiated landslides in the adelbert range, Papua New Guinea

On November 1, 1970, an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 occurred 32 km north of Madang on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, and on the fringes of the Adelbert Range. Dense landsliding occurred over an area of 240 km². Debris avalanches removed shallow soil and forest vegetation from slopes of 45°. Earthflows occurred on deeper soils and lower-angled slopes. The nature of the landslides and disposition of the vegetation debris suggest that falling trees triggered the landslides during the earthquake. Logs in the deposits were an important influence on the movement of landslide debris in the channel systems.     

基于GIS与ANN模型的地震滑坡易发性区划

基于遥感数据、地理信息系统(GIS)技术和人工神经网络(ANN)模型,开展地震滑坡易发性区划研究.2010年4月14日玉树地震后,基于航片与卫星影像目视解译,并辅以野外调查的方法,在地震区圈定了2036处地震诱发滑坡.选择高程、坡度、坡向、斜坡曲率、坡位、与水系距离、地层岩性、与断裂距离、与公路距离、归一化植被指数(NDVI)、与同震地表破裂距离、地震动峰值加速度(PGA)共12个因子作为地震滑坡易发性评价因子.这些因子均是应用GIS技术与遥感影像处理技术,基于地形数据、地质数据、遥感数据得到.训练样本中的滑动样本有两组,一组是滑坡区整个单滑坡体的质心位置,另一组是滑坡滑源区滑前的坡体高程最高的位置.应用这12个影响因子,分别采用这两组评价样本,基于ANN模型建立地震滑坡易发性索引图,基于GIS工具建立地震滑坡易发性分级图.分别应用训练样本中滑坡分布的点数据去检验各自的结果正确率,正确率分别为81.53％与81.29％,表明ANN模型是一种高效科学的地震滑坡易发性区划模型.     

Landslide susceptibility assessment in the Anfu County,China: comparing different statistical and probabilistic models considering the new topo-hydrological factor (HAND)

The present study is aimed at producing landslide susceptibility map of a landslide-prone area (Anfu County, China) by using evidential belief function (EBF), frequency ratio (FR) and Mahalanobis distance (MD) models. To this aim, 302 landslides were mapped based on earlier reports and aerial photographs, as well as, carrying out several field surveys. The landslide inventory was randomly split into a training dataset (70%; 212landslides) for training the models and the remaining (30%; 90 landslides) was cast off for validation purpose. A total of sixteen geo-environmental conditioning factors were considered as inputs to the models: slope degree, slope aspect, plan curvature, profile curvature, the new topo-hydrological factor termed height above the nearest drainage (HAND), average annual rainfall, altitude, distance from rivers, distance from roads, distance from faults, lithology, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), sediment transport index (STI), stream power index (SPI), soil texture, and land use/cover. The validation of susceptibility maps was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). As a results, the FR outperformed other models with an AUROC of 84.98%, followed by EBF (78.63%) and MD (78.50%) models. The percentage of susceptibility classes for each model revealed that MD model managed to build a compendious map focused at highly susceptible areas (high and very high classes) with an overall area of approximately 17%, followed by FR (22.76%) and EBF (31%). The premier model (FR) attested that the five factors mostly influenced the landslide occurrence in the area: NDVI, soil texture, slope degree, altitude, and HAND. Interestingly, HAND could manifest clearer pattern with regard to landslide occurrence compared to other topo-hydrological factors such as SPI, STI, and distance to rivers. Lastly, it can be conceived that the susceptibility of the area to landsliding is more subjected to a complex environmental set of factors rather than anthropological ones (residential areas and distance to roads). This upshot can make a platform for further pragmatic measures regarding hazard-planning actions.     

Spatio-temporal evolution of mass wasting after the 2008 M<Subscript>w</Subscript> 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake revealed by a detailed multi-temporal inventory

Strong earthquakes in mountainous areas can trigger a large number of landslides that generate deposits of loose and unconsolidated debris across the landscape. These deposits can be easily remobilised by rainfalls, with their movement frequently evolving into catastrophic debris flows and avalanches. This has been the fate of many of the 200,000 co-seismic deposits generated by the 2008 M_w 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China. Here we present one of the first studies on the post-seismic patterns of landsliding through a detailed multi-temporal inventory that covers a large portion of the epicentral area (462.5 km²). We quantify changes of size-frequency distribution, active volumes and type of movement. We analyse the possible factors controlling landslide activity and we discuss the significance of mapping uncertainties. We observe that the total number of active landslides decreased with time significantly (from 9189 in 2008 to 221 in 2015), and that post-seismic remobilisations soon after the earthquake (2008–2011) occurred stochastically with respect to the size of the co-seismic deposits. Subsequently (2013–2015), landslide rates remained higher in larger deposits than in smaller ones, particularly in proximity to the drainage network, with channelised flows becoming comparatively more frequent than hillslope slides. However, most of the co-seismic debris remained along the hillslopes and are largely stabilised, urging to rethink the way we believe that seismic activity affects the erosion patterns in mountain ranges.     

Interpretation of landslide distribution triggered by the 2005 Northern Pakistan earthquake using SPOT 5 imagery

The 2005 northern Pakistan earthquake (magnitude 7.6) of 8 October 2005 occurred in the northwestern part of the Himalayas. We interpreted landslides triggered by the earthquake using black-and-white 2.5-m-resolution System Pour l’Observation de la Terre 5 (SPOT 5) stereo images. As a result, the counts of 2,424 landslides were identified in the study area of 55 by 51 km. About 79% or 1,925 of the landslides were small (less than 0.5 ha in area), whereas 207 of the landslides (about 9%) were large (1 ha and more in area). Judging from our field survey, most of the small landslides are shallow rock falls and slides. However, the resolution and whitish image in the photos prevented interpreting the movement type and geomorphologic features of the landslide sites in detail. It is known that this earthquake took place along preexisting active reverse faults. The landslide distribution was mapped and superimposed on the crustal deformation detected by the environmental satellite/synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, active faults map, geological map, and shuttle radar topography mission data. The landslide distribution showed the following characteristics: (1) Most of the landslides occurred on the hanging-wall side of the Balakot–Garhi fault; (2) greater than one third of the landslides occurred within 1 km from the active fault; (3) the greatest number of landslides (1,147 counts), landslide density (3.2 counts/km²), and landslide area ratio (2.3 ha/km²) was found within Miocene sandstone and siltstone, Precambrian schist and quartzite, and Eocene and Paleocene limestone and shale, respectively; (4) there was a slight trend that large landslides occurred on vertically convex slopes rather than on concave slopes; furthermore, large landslides occurred on steeper (30° and more) slopes than on gentler slopes; (5) many large landslides occurred on slopes facing S and SW directions, which is consistent with SAR-detected horizontal dominant direction of crustal deformation on the hanging wall.     

5.12汶川8级地震次生地质灾害的基本特征及其形成机制浅析

5.12汶川8级大地震沿龙门山断裂带形成长350多km,宽约50 km的地表破裂带,触发了1万多处崩塌、滑坡、泥石流(碎屑流)地质灾害,其中巨型灾害体87处、大型灾害体606处,形成了136个较大规模的堰塞湖。地震地质灾害的链生特征显著,形成地震-崩塌、地震-滑坡-碎屑流-堰塞湖-堰塞坝溃决-泥石流等典型地质灾害链。地震次生地质灾害具有分布范围广、数量多、种类全、密度大、强度高、致灾重的特点。在部分地区,崩塌、滑坡和碎屑流的分布面积占地震极重灾区面积的30%~58％,甚至高达80％。据初步统计,崩塌、滑坡和碎屑流共导致大约2万人死亡,其中北川县老县城滑坡导致1 600多人死亡。地震次生地质灾害主要沿断裂带、河谷和交通线分布。崩塌、滑坡的破裂源主要位于河流拐弯处靠近侵蚀岸一侧、山脊两侧及坡肩部位,这与上述部位对地震动峰值加速度的放大作用直接相关。地震次生地质灾害主要受地震动峰值加速度和地形控制,其次为岩性、斜坡结构、活动断裂、人类工程活动。许多大型崩塌、滑坡还具有高速远程的特征,部分崩塌、滑坡 碎屑流位移达数km,速度高达100~300 m/s,其运动轨迹复杂多变,常常导致多处人员伤亡,是高山峡谷地区地质灾害风险评估和减灾防灾必须面临的新课题。根据上述情况,文中对汶川地震次生地质灾害的基本特征、分布规律和主要影响因素进行了初步总结,并对地震滑坡的形成机制和运动模式进行了初步探讨。首次提出高山峡谷地区单一斜坡上呈阶梯状多级滑动的群发性地震滑坡的形成模式:强烈地震往往引起剧烈的地面震动,而高陡的山脊及其坡肩部位对地震波具有明显的放大作用,因此,上述部位往往是地震滑坡的高易发地段,当地震动峰值加速度超过不稳定性斜坡的临界峰值加速度时,斜坡失稳破坏形成一系列的群发性滑坡,从上到下往往形成阶梯状多级滑动的滑坡群,此种模式适用于残坡积层、风化层地震滑坡和主滑面较缓的地震基岩滑坡。最后,指出了今后应重点研究的科学问题,并对防灾减灾措施提出了一些建议。     

Using an airborne laser scanner for the identification of shallow landslides and susceptibility assessment in an area of ignimbrite overlain by permeable pyroclastics

An airborne laser scanner can identify shallow landslides even when they are only several meters in diameter and are hidden by vegetation, if the vegetation is coniferous or deciduous trees in a season with fewer leaves. We used an airborne laser scanner to survey an area of the 1998 Fukushima disaster, during which more than 1,000 shallow landslides occurred on slopes of vapor-phase crystallized ignimbrite overlain by permeable pyroclastics. We identified landslides that have occurred at the 1998 event and also previous landslides that were hidden by vegetation. The landslide density of slopes steeper than 20° was 117 landslides/km² before the 1998 disaster. This event increased the density by 233 landslides/km² indicating that this area is highly susceptible to shallow landsliding.     

Application of fuzzy logic and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to landslide susceptibility mapping at Haraz watershed, Iran

The main goal of this study is to produce landslide susceptibility maps of a landslide-prone area (Haraz) in Iran by using both fuzzy logic and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) models. At first, landslide locations were identified by aerial photographs and field surveys, and a total of 78 landslides were mapped from various sources. Then, the landslide inventory was randomly split into a training dataset 70?% (55 landslides) for training the models and the remaining 30?% (23 landslides) was used for validation purpose. Twelve data layers, as the landslide conditioning factors, are exploited to detect the most susceptible areas. These factors are slope degree, aspect, plan curvature, altitude, lithology, land use, distance from rivers, distance from roads, distance from faults, stream power index, slope length, and topographic wetness index. Subsequently, landslide susceptibility maps were produced using fuzzy logic and AHP models. For verification, receiver operating characteristics curve and area under the curve approaches were used. The verification results showed that the fuzzy logic model (89.7?%) performed better than AHP (81.1?%) model for the study area. The produced susceptibility maps can be used for general land use planning and hazard mitigation purpose.     

Applicability of landslide susceptibility and hazard zoning at different scales

Landslide susceptibility and hazard zoning can notably improve land-use planning, and thus can be considered an efficient way to reduce future damage and loss of lives caused by landslides. However, the lack of standard procedures restricts the use of susceptibility and hazard-zoning maps, notwithstanding their extensive development over the last decades.JTC-1, the Joint Technical Committee on Landslides and Engineered Slopes, fills this void by proposing International Guidelines for Landslide Susceptibility, Hazard and Risk Zoning for land-use planning, which provide definitions, terminology and international standards for methods, levels, scales and types of zoning. The Guidelines also promote the use of quantitative risk-management principles, essential to compare risk from landslides with risks related to other hazards and with loss of life tolerance criteria.This paper focuses on the applicability of landslide susceptibility and hazard zoning at different scales. Several zoning examples, referring to active, dormant and occasionally reactivated slides, provide insights into and highlight the relationships among different methods, levels and types of zoning. The examples also stress the importance of a correct characterization of the processes leading to landsliding to produce reliable susceptibility and hazard-zoning maps.     

1920年海原8.5级地震高烈度区滑坡编录与分布规律

发生在黄土高原的1920年12月16日的海原M_S8.5级大地震触发了大量的滑坡,这些滑坡直接造成了大量的人员伤亡。近年来,出现了一些关于本次地震触发滑坡的专题研究,然而,这些研究多是基于局部震区或者个别单体滑坡进行,极少有关于该地震触发滑坡详细全面的成果出现。这种情况已经成为了深入理解海原地震触发滑坡的规模与程度、发育规律等的障碍。本研究拟基于谷歌地球平台,采用人工目视解译方法,以海原地震高烈度区（Ⅸ~Ⅺ）为研究区,开展地震滑坡解译工作,并分析这些滑坡的分布规律与影响因子之间的关系。结果表明本次地震在Ⅸ~Ⅺ度区内触发了至少5384处滑坡,滑坡总面积为218.78 km2。滑坡密度最高的区域为Ⅸ烈度圈的北西部分。通过分析这些滑坡与地形、地震、地质等因子的关系发现,高程1700~2000 m为滑坡的高发与高易发区间;大多数滑坡集中发育在坡度15°~25°范围内,滑坡密度随着坡度的增加而显著增加;坡位越低,也就是距离河流越近,滑坡密度越大;新生代地层、尤其是第四系黄土覆盖地区是海原地震滑坡发生的主要区域,也是高易发区域。本文为探索黄土地区地震滑坡发育规律、减轻黄土地震滑坡灾害等提供了科学参考。     

Topographic and geologic controls on landslides induced by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake and its aftershocks: an example from the Trishuli Valley,central Nepal

The devastating Gorkha earthquake (M _w 7.8) on April 25, 2015 and its aftershocks triggered numerous landslides across the Lesser and Higher Himalayas of central Nepal. This study aims to characterize these landslides, based on the local topography and geology, and to develop data for landslide hazard zoning. This study focused on a mountainous catchment of the Trishuli River, where a digital elevation model was used to examine hilllslope and river profiles, aerial photos were used to identify 155 coherent landslides, and satellite images were used to map 912 earthquake-induced landslides. The topography of this area is mainly characterized by incised V-shaped inner gorges and steep (> 35°) SW-facing scarp slopes. Although most of the coherent landslides were not reactivated by the earthquakes, the Gogane landslide was affected by the earthquake and partly failed. A majority of the earthquake-induced landslides (91%) were new landslides, while the others were enlarged old landslides. The earthquake-induced landslides occurred mainly on the steep slopes of V-shaped inner gorges and scarp slopes, in gneiss and quartzite strata of the Lesser Himalayas, and they were primarily associated with fractured rock masses. This analysis provides a framework for zoning areas vulnerable to earthquake-induced landslides.     

Analysis of the mechanisms of slope failures triggered by the 2007 Chuetsu Oki earthquake

The 2007 Chuetsu Oki earthquake (M_JMA = 6.6) triggered more than one hundred slope failures in the northwest part of Niigata prefecture, Japan. A reconnaissance survey conducted by the authors revealed that although most of the failures were only a few meters deep, they still caused significant damage to roads, railways, and houses. It was also found that a vast number of shallow slides were concentrated along the coastal line of the Japan Sea, while only few, but relatively larger failures occurred in a mountainous part of the study area, which is located in a considerable distance from the earthquake’s epicenter. This paper summarizes the reconnaissance observations, describes the geologic characteristics of the area covered by landslides, provides characterization of major types of the landslides, and examines the causes and mechanisms of typical failures. In addition, this paper seeks to investigate the mechanism of the Ohzumi landslide, the largest slide triggered by the Chuetsu Oki earthquake. For this purpose, a comprehensive analysis that included field investigation and laboratory testing of soils samples was performed. Results of field investigation suggested that the failure plane of the Ohzumi landslide formed in a saturated layer of sandy soil near a boundary with bedrock. Data from undrained cyclic loading triaxial compression tests indicated that the sandy material was highly susceptible to generation of high excess pore-water pressures during earthquake loading. On the basis of the obtained results and the outcome of seismic response and slope stability analyses, the authors posited an explanation on the mechanism of the Ohzumi landslide.     

Geological and geomorphological characteristics of landslides triggered by the 2004 Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake in Japan

The 2004 Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake (M_JMA 6.8) triggered more than one thousand landslides in the Miocene to Quaternary sedimentary rocks in Japan. The most common landslides were shallow disrupted landslides on steep slopes, which has been common in many previous disastrous earthquakes in the world. The Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake also triggered more than one hundred deep landslides, providing valuable information on the conditions for their occurrence. A field investigation and the interpretation of aerial photographs taken before and after the earthquake suggest that reactivation of existing landslides and undercutting of slopes are the most important factors for deep landslides to be triggered by earthquakes. In addition, planar sliding surfaces seem to be essential for the generation of catastrophic landslides triggered by this earthquake. Planar bedding–parallel sliding surfaces were formed at the boundary between the overlying permeable sandstone and underlying siltstone or along the bedding planes of alternating beds of sandstone and siltstone. Sliding surfaces along the slope-parallel oxidation front were formed in the area of black mudstone. New landslides (rockslide-avalanches) occurred with the sliding surfaces in a several-cm thick tuff interbedded in siltstone. One rockslide-avalanche occurred on a slope where buckling deformation preceded the earthquake. Gentle valley bottom sediments were mobilized in many locations, probably because they were saturated and partial liquefaction had occurred due to the earthquake shaking.     

地震诱发滑坡的快速评估方法研究:以2017年MS 7.0级九寨沟地震为例

山岳地区强烈地震诱发的滑坡、崩塌等地震次生灾害在造成严重人员伤亡的同时,对社会经济的发展也构成了严重威胁。而震后滑坡分布的快速评估,尤其是滑坡重灾区的确定,则可为救援工作的科学部署和有效开展提供决策支持并减轻地震灾害的损失。2017年8月8日发生于四川省阿坝州九寨沟风景区的MS 7.0级地震诱发了大量的滑坡、崩塌灾害,造成了一定的人员伤亡和财产损失,凸显出进行震后滑坡快速评估的重要性。本文通过对九寨沟地震灾区震前、震后“北京二号”遥感影像的对比分析,解译此次地震诱发的滑坡分布概况。尽管震后影像在局部区域有云团覆盖,影响了震区滑坡解译的详尽程度,但是对于主要发生的滑坡地震高烈度地区(≥Ⅻ度),本文所用影像基本满足解译要求。本文共解译出194个面积大于700 m2的滑坡,这些滑坡主要沿地震烈度长轴方向分布,灾害体平面面积达5.6 km2,影响范围超过600 km2。通过对九寨沟地震灾区的地形、岩性及地震动加速度进行分析,本文采用Newmark刚体滑块模型对该区震后滑坡危险区域进行了预测。预测结果按照危险程度不同划分为5个级别,即高度危险、较高危险、中度危险、较低危险和低度危险。滑坡分布与评估结果呈现出较好的一致性:解译的滑坡主要分布在评估为滑坡高度危险的区域,表明本文所采用方法的有效性。本文对该方法的局限性也进行了讨论,并提出改进建议。     

Characteristics of earthquake-induced landslides in a heavy snowfall region—landslides triggered by the northern Nagano prefecture earthquake, March 12, 2011, Japan

The northern Nagano Prefecture earthquake, M_JMA?6.7 (Mw?6.2), which is inferred to have been triggered by the huge (Mw?9.0) March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake, occurred on March 12, 2011, in northern Nagano Prefecture, an area in Japan famous for heavy snowfall. A large number of landslides were triggered by the 12 March earthquake, and it caused building damage in the area of the epicenter. To clarify characteristics of the distribution and dynamic behavior of these landslides, we analyzed aerial photographs and conducted field surveys in and around the epicentral area. Large-scale landslides with long distance run-outs are a remarkable characteristic of the landslides induced by this earthquake. The long travel distance is considered to be related to the thick snowpack at the time the earthquake occurred. Moderate scale deep-seated landslides and shallow landslides were also observed in the study area. Based on an analysis of landslides with the active fault on which the earthquake is believed to have occurred, most of these landslides were distributed on the hanging wall of the active fault, within a distance of 12?km from the fault.     

Landslide susceptibility mapping using the weight of evidence method in the Tinau watershed, Nepal

Mountainous areas in Nepal are prone to landslides, resulting in an enormous loss of life and property every year. As a first step towards mitigating or controlling such problems, it is necessary to prepare landslide susceptibility maps. Various methodologies have been proposed for landslide susceptibility mapping. This study applies the weight of evidence method to the Tinau watershed in west Nepal. A landslide susceptibility map is prepared on the basis of field observations and available data of geology, land use, topography and hydrology. Predicted susceptibility levels are found to be in good agreement with the locations of past landslides. The results show that about 30?% of the area is highly susceptible to landsliding. The present results provide useful information to the authorities concerning the landslide susceptibility zones and possible improvements for disaster management activities and sustainable development.     

Statistical analysis of factors affecting landslide distribution in the new Madrid seismic zone, Tennessee and Kentucky

More than 220 large landslides along the bluffs bordering the Mississippi alluvial plain between Cairo, Ill., and Memphis, Tenn., are analyzed by discriminant analysis and multiple linear regression to determine the relative effects of slope height and steepness, stratigraphic variation, slope aspect, and proximity to the hypocenters of the 1811-12 New Madrid, Mo., earthquakes on the distribution of these landslides. Three types of landslides are analyzed: (1) old, coherent slumps and block slides, which have eroded and revegetated features and no active analogs in the area; (2) old earth flows, which are also eroded and revegetated; and (3) young rotational slumps, which are present only along near-river bluffs, and which are the only young, active landslides in the area.

Discriminant analysis shows that only one characteristic differs significantly between bluffs with and without young rotational slumps: failed bluffs tend to have sand and clay at their base, which may render them more susceptible to fluvial erosion.

Bluffs having old coherent slides are significantly higher, steeper, and closer to the hypocenters of the 1811-12 earthquakes than bluffs without these slides. Bluffs having old earth flows are likewise higher and closer to the earthquake hypocenters.

Multiple regression analysis indicates that the distribution of young rotational slumps is affected most strongly by slope steepness: about one-third of the variation in the distribution is explained by variations in slope steepness. The distribution of old coherent slides and earth flows is affected most strongly by slope height, but the proximity to the hypocenters of the 1811-12 earthquakes also significantly affects the distribution.

The results of the statistical analyses indicate that the only recently active landsliding in the area is along actively eroding river banks, where rotational slumps formed as bluffs are undercut by the river. The analyses further indicate that the old coherent slides and earth flows in the area are spatially related to the 1811-12 earthquake hypocenters and were thus probably triggered by those earthquakes. These results are consistent with findings of other recent investigations of landslides in the area that presented field, historical, and analytical evidence to demonstrate that old landslides in the area formed during the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes.

Results of the multiple linear regression can also be used to approximate the relative susceptibility of the bluffs in the study area to seismically induced landsliding.