DEM-Based analysis of earthquake-induced shallow landslide susceptibility

This paper describes a simple method of Digital Elevation Model (DEM)-based earthquake-induced shallow landslide susceptibility analysis. Considering topographic effects in amplification of earthquake ground motion, Uchida et al. (2004) have developed a topographical parameter based empirical description of landslide susceptibility during an earthquake. In this research, the method proposed by Uchida et al. (2004) was utilized in raster GIS and shallow landslide susceptibility analysis was performed in the study area of Nishiyama Town of Kashiwazaki City, Niigata prefecture, Japan. The correlation of shallow landslides generated by the Niigataken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake in 2007 with landslide susceptibility values suggests that the method proposed by Uchida et al. (2004) can be around 80% accurate in delineating the probable locations of earthquake-induced landslides. By calibrating landslide data and landslide susceptibility values in a small site within the study area, a final landslide susceptibility map was prepared for the whole study area. The resultant susceptibility map is very useful for regional scale planning. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008.