Probabilistic landslide susceptibility and factor effect analysis

The susceptibility of landslides and the effect of landslide-related factors at Penang in Malaysia using the geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing data have been evaluated. Landslide locations were identified in the study area from interpretation of aerial photographs and from field surveys. Topographical and geological data and satellite images were collected, processed, and constructed into a spatial database using GIS and image processing. The factors chosen that influence landslide occurrence were: topographic slope, topographic aspect, topographic curvature and distance from drainage, all from the topographic database; lithology and distance from lineament, taken from the geologic database; land use from Landsat Thermatic Mapper (TM) satellite images; and the vegetation index value from SPOT HRV (High-Resolution Visible) satellite images. Landslide hazardous areas were analyzed and mapped using the landslide-occurrence factors employing the probability-frequency ratio method using the all factors. To assess the effect of these factors, each factor was excluded from the analysis, and its effect verified using the landslide location data. As a result, all factors had relatively positive effects, except lithology, on the landslide susceptibility maps in the study area.