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Evaluation of the consistency of landslide susceptibility mapping: a case study from the Kankai watershed in east Nepal

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Abstract

GIS-based landslide susceptibility maps for the Kankai watershed in east Nepal are developed using the frequency ratio method and the multiple linear regression technique. The maps are derived from comparing observed landslides with possible causative factors: slope angle, slope aspect, slope curvature, relative relief, distance from drainage, land use, geology, distance from faults and mean annual rainfall. The consistency of the maps is evaluated using landslide density analysis, success rate analysis and spatially agreed area approach. The first two analyses produce almost identical quantitative results, whereas the last approach is able to reveal spatial differences between the maps and also to improve predictions in the agreed high landslide-susceptible area.

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Acknowledgments

The Department of Survey, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology and the Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Nepal, provided data used in this study. The Flemish Inter-University Council (VLIR), Belgium, provided a Ph.D. scholarship for the first author to carry out this research. The authors would also like to acknowledge the anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Prabin Kayastha & Florimond De Smedt

  2. Mountain Risk Engineering Unit, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Prabin Kayastha & Megh Raj Dhital

  3. Central Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Megh Raj Dhital

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  1. Prabin Kayastha
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  2. Megh Raj Dhital
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  3. Florimond De Smedt
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Correspondence to Prabin Kayastha.

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Kayastha, P., Dhital, M.R. & De Smedt, F. Evaluation of the consistency of landslide susceptibility mapping: a case study from the Kankai watershed in east Nepal. Landslides 10, 785–799 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-012-0361-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-012-0361-5

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