Spatial distribution of shallow landslides caused by Typhoon Lekima in 2019 in Zhejiang Province, China

In recent years, the coastal region of Southeast China has witnessed a significant increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events associated with landfalling typhoons. The hilly and mountainous terrain of this area, combined with rapid rainfall accumulation, has led to a surge in flash floods and severe geological hazards. On August 10, 2019, Typhoon Lekima made landfall in Zhejiang Province, China, and its torrential rainfall triggered extensive landslides, resulting in substantial damage and economic losses. Utilizing high-resolution satellite images, we compiled a landslide inventory of the affected area, which comprises a total of 2,774 rainfallinduced landslides over an area of 2965 km2. The majority of these landslides were small to mediumsized and exhibited elongated, clustered patterns. Some landslides displayed characteristics of high-level initiation, obstructing or partially blocking rivers, leading to the formation of debris dams. We used the inventory to analyze the distribution pattern of the landslides and their relationship with topographical, geological, and hydrological factors. The results showed that landslide abundance was closely related to elevation, slope angle, faults, and road density. The landslides were predominantly located in hilly and low mountainous areas, with elevations ranging from 150 to 300 m, slopes of 20 to 30 degrees, and a NE-SE aspect. Notably, we observed the highest Landslide Number Density(LND) and Landslide Area Percentage(LAP) in the rhyolite region. Landslides were concentrated within approximately 4 km on either side of fault zones, with their size and frequency negatively correlated with distances to faults, roads, and river systems. Furthermore, under the influence of typhoons, regions with denser vegetation cover exhibited higher landslide density, reaching maximum values in shrubland areas. In areas experiencing significantly increased concentrated rainfall, landslide density also showed a corresponding rise. In terms of spatial distribution, the rainfall-triggered landslides primarily occurred in the northeastern part of the study area, particularly in regions characterized by complex topography such as Shanzao Village in Yantan Town, Xixia Township, and Shangzhang Township. The research findings offer crucial data on the rainfallinduced landslides triggered by Typhoon Lekima, shedding light on their spatial distribution patterns. These findings provide valuable references for mitigating risks and planning reconstruction in typhoon-affected area.

An Investigation of Landslide Susceptibility Using Logistic Regression and Statistical Index Methods in Dailekh District, Nepal

Landslide distribution and susceptibility mapping are the fundamental steps for landslide-related hazard and disaster risk management activities, especially in the Himalaya region which has resulted in a great deal of death and damage to property. To better understand the landslide condition in the Nepal Himalaya, we carried out an investigation on the landslide distribution and susceptibility using the landslide inventory data and 12 different contributing factors in the Dailekh district, Western Nepal. Based on the evaluation of the frequency distribution of the landslide, the relationship between the landslide and the various contributing factors was determined.Then, the landslide susceptibility was calculated using logistic regression and statistical index methods along with different topographic(slope, aspect, relative relief, plan curvature, altitude, topographic wetness index) and non-topographic factors(distance from river, normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI), distance from road, precipitation, land use and land cover, and geology), and 470(70%) of total 658 landslides. The receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve analysis using 198(30%) of total landslides showed that the prediction curve rates(area under the curve, AUC) values for two methods(logistic regression and statistical index) were 0.826, and 0.823with success rates of 0.793, and 0.811, respectively. The values of R-Index for the logistic regression and statistical index methods were83.66 and 88.54, respectively, consisting of high susceptible hazard classes. In general, this research concluded that the cohesive and coherent natural interplay of topographic and non-topographic factors strongly affects landslide occurrence, distribution, and susceptibility condition in the Nepal Himalaya region. Furthermore, the reliability of these two methods is verified for landslide susceptibility mapping in Nepal’s central mountain region.

Early landslide mapping with slope units division and multi-scale objectbased image analysis——A case study in the Xianshui River basin of Sichuan,China

Previous studies on optical remote sensing mapping of landslides mainly focused on new landslides that have occurred, but little attention was paid to the early landslide due to its high concealment. In SAR technology, a prevalent method to detect early landslides, only can be used to identify the potential hazards of slow deformation. Therefore, it is necessary to explore new method of early landslides mapping by integrating all types of direct and indirect early features, such as cracks on slopes, small collapses inside and topographic features. In this study, an object-oriented image analysis method based on slope unit division and multi-scale segmentation was proposed to obtain accurate location and boundary extraction of early landslides. In the middle-and small-scale segmentation, the object, texture, spectrum, geometric features,topographic features, and other features were obtained to determine the local feature location of early landslides. The slope unit boundary was combined with the feature of a large-scale segmentation object to determine the scope of landslides. This method was tested in the Xianshui River basin in the Daofu County, Sichuan Province, China. The results demonstrate that:(1) Such features as landslide cracks and the small collapse at the bottom of slope can effectively determine the landslide position.(2) The slope unit division and the correct setting of shape factors in multiple segmentation can effectively determine the landslide boundary.(3) The accuracy of landslide location extraction was 83.33%, and the accuracy of boundary extraction for early landslides that were completely identified was evaluated as 82.67%. It is indicated that this method can improve the accuracy of boundary extraction and meet the requirements of the early landslides mapping.