Landslide susceptibility zonation in Greece

The objective of this study is to perform a preliminary national-scale assessment of the landslide susceptibility in Greece using a landslide inventory derived from historical archives. The effects of controlling factors on landslide susceptibility combined with multivariate statistics have been evaluated using GIS aided mapping techniques. Thousand six hundred thirty-five landslide occurrences, mainly earth slides obtained from Public Authorities archives, covering a long time period were recorded and digitally stored using a spatial relational database management system. Ten landslide predisposing factors (predictors) were identified, while digital thematic maps on the spatial distribution of those factors were generated. The correlation between the landslide locations and predictor classes was analyzed by using the Landslide Relative Frequency. R-mode factor analysis was applied to study the interrelations between predictors (independent variables) while weighting coefficients were determined. Landslide susceptibility was derived from an algorithm which modeled the influence of predictors, and a susceptibility map was compiled. The landslide susceptibility map was verified using a data set of 375 new landslide locations. It is the first comprehensive attempt to illustrate the landslide susceptibility in the total country based on the interpretation of historical data only.