Analyzing Landslide Hazard and Risk Using Geospatial Technology: A Case of Kindo Didaye Woreda, Wolaita, SNNPR, Ethiopia

Abstract

Landslides are commonly known natural hazards that lead to infrastructure destruction, property damage, and human loss. Kindo Didaye woreda is characterised by its mountainous and the settlement of people near steep slopes. In the Kindo Didaye area, landslides have been seriously threatening human and animal lives as well as economic activity. The objective of this study is to prepare the landslide hazard and risk map of Kindo Didaye area using geospatial technologies. Ten (10) causative factors elevation, slope, lithology, rainfall, land use land cover, soil type, lineament, NDVI, distance from rivers (streams), and TWI, are developed in GIS to prepare a landslide hazard map. Then, multi-criteria evaluation method was used to produce a landslide hazard map depending on the Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) pairwise comparison of eigenvector values. IDRIS software was used to compute the weight of each factor. Finally, a landslide risk map of the study area was prepared by overlaying the landslide hazard map, population density, proximity of roads, and land use land cover. The result shows that 98.55 (36.24%), 48.69 (17.90%), 55.67 (20.48%), 41.96 (15.43%), and 9.93% (26.99)sq.km were subjected to very low, low, moderate, high, and very high landslide hazard zones respectively, as well as 37.04 (7.62%), 41.59 (15.30%), 50.50(20.57%), 47.67 (19.52%), and 36.98% (95.12) sq. km of the study area were, respectively subject to very high, high, moderate, low, and very low landslide risk levels respectively. The landslide hazard and risk maps that are produced in this study will be useful to provide important information about the locations of landslide-prone areas. Concerned bodies such as land use planners and engineers should implement risk management programs and appropriate policies to reduce landslide threats in the current study area.