Abstract:
Heavy rainfall triggered landslides are on the rise along the
Western Ghats making it a matter of priority to identify landslideprone
areas well in advance. The present effort is aimed at
identifying landslide susceptible villages (LSV) around the Kalsubai
region of Deccan volcanic province (DVP), Maharashtra, India
from 8 weighted landslide parameters- rainfall, slope, lithology,
land use and land cover (LULC), soil properties, relative relief,
aspect and lineament. These parameters were combined with
advanced remote sensing (RS) data and processed in geographical
information system (GIS) as well as in image processing software,
which are an integral part of geospatial techniques. Out of the
total 59 villages, the study identified 9 villages are situated in very
high, 13 in high, 12 in moderate, 11 in low and 14 in very low risk
zones. Our data reveals incessant heavy rains and steep slopes are
the dominant factors in triggering landslides, exacerbated by
anthropogenic activity prevalent in the study area. The spatial and
non-spatial database created will help to take effective steps in
preventing and/or mitigating landslide disasters in the study area.
The methodology can be applied to identify other landslide prone
areas in a cost effective way.
