Author(s)

Kismat Pokhrel¹, Bharat Prasad Bhandari^1,2*

¹Goldengate International College, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
²Central Department of Environment Science, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Landslide susceptibility mapping is a very important tool to identify potential landslide-prone areas. In this work, weight of evidence method is applied to obtain landslide susceptibility assessment. Weight of evidence model is commonly applied in the landslide study as it is widely acceptable and easy to use. The objective of this paper is to prepare the landslide susceptibility map of Lung Khola catchment, Pyuthan District of Nepal. Altogether, 84 landslides were identified after landslide inventory. The thematic layers of all causative factors and existing landslides are prepared in Arc GISsoftware. Mainly, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) based causative factors and field data were used to prepare the data layers of the causative factors. In this research, 8 intrinsic factors were used for the landslide assessment. South East and East facing aspects, slope >60 degrees, elevation ranges 1300 - 1700 m, phylitic rocks and agricultural land followed by forest are the major contributors of landslide hazard in the study area. The weight of evidence model was validated by using area under curve method. The success rate curve showed the accuracy of 73.16%. It can be concluded that weight of evidence model is suitable model for landslide susceptibility analysis and the area is highly susceptible to landslide occurrence.

Weight of Evidence, Landslide Modeling, Bivariate Method, DEM

Pokhrel, K. and Bhandari, B. (2019) Identification of Potential Landslide Susceptible Area in the Lesser Himalayan Terrain of Nepal. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 7, 24-38. doi: 10.4236/gep.2019.711003.