Landslide Hazard Assessment and Distribution Mapping: A Case from Triveni Rural Municipality, Nepal

Abstract

An application of GIS for landslide hazard assessment using multivariate statistical analysis, mapping, and the evaluation of the hazard maps is crucial for disaster risk reduction. Landslides are the rapid downward movement of a mass of rock, earth or artificial fill to the slope. The study was conducted the Khara of Triveni Rural municipality of Rukum West district and it covers three wards (3, 4 & 5) of rural municipality covering the total area of about 33.52 square kilometres located in the Karnali province of Nepal which is under the pressure of high road construction activities. Data used to construct the landslide distribution map and hazard assessments were obtained from the direct field, and mapping using GIS. More data sources and verifications were made from the rural municipality, published articles and journals, topographical and geological maps, google images and aerial photographs and other digital sources. To determine the factors and classes influencing land sliding, the layers of topographic factors derived from a digital elevation model, geology, and land use/land covers were analyzed and the results were used for landslide distribution mapping and hazard analyses. From the landslide inventory of more than 200 landslides that were occurred during the last five years since 2015, the landslide distribution map, landslide-size distribution map and hazard level of sliding graphics were presented. Hazard map of the study area shows 4.34% area lies in the high hazard level, 53.64% on moderate hazard level and 42.02% in low hazard level in the study area. The results would give insights to the landslide distribution in the area that could support rural municipality for shaping disaster risk reduction policies and strategies.