Himalayan Geology, Vol. 40 (1), 2019, pp. 30-49, Printed in India
Susceptibility status of landslides in Yamuna valley, Uttarakhand, NW-Himalaya, India
VINAY KUNDU1*, R.C. PATEL2
1H. No. 3788, Urban-Estate, Jind, Haryana, 126102, India
2Department of Geophysics, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, 136119, India
*Email (Corresponding author): kundu_vinay123@ yahoo.co.in
Abstract: Yamuna River in NW-Himalaya, India many pilgrimages and tourist centers that attracts thousands of people every year. Additionally, many hydro-electric projects, roads, and building infrastructures along the valley are under construction and altering the slope and topography into unstable at many places. Several landslides have occurred in this valley mainly due to geological causes related to Himalayan mountain building activities, steep topography and frequent occurrences of extreme precipitation events. The susceptibility status of landslides in the Yamuna valley is delineated by collecting the data from satellite imagery and also verified in field to mitigate the risk of landslides. The aim of research is to provide a susceptibility curve for landslides hazard assessment using the statistical integration methodology. A Weighted Multiclass Index Overlay (WMIO) method has been used to categorize the landslide susceptible slopes. A total of eleven factors vis-à-vis slope angle, aspect, curvature, drainage, basin, landuse - landcover and geomorphology, slope forming material, thickness and structure have been used as input along with landslide inventory to calculate ratings and weights required for the susceptibility modelling. The entire process of data generation and susceptibility analysis is performed on ArcGIS 10.2 and ILWIS 3.1 platform by inputs in the form of spatial data of 30 m resolution and weight integers of different maps prepared from the satellite imageries and field work. The rating maps have been integrated into GIS to obtain the susceptibility score map, which is finally classified into 'high', 'moderate' and 'low' susceptibility zones based on the cumulative distribution of landslides using “success rate curve”. The susceptibility map shows 11.81 % of study area grouped under high susceptible zone whereas 27.19 % under moderate and rests 61 % area under low susceptible zone.
Key words: Landslide susceptibility, Weighted Multiclass Index Overlay, Landuse-Landcover, Himalaya.
