An integrated approach for landslide susceptibility–vulnerability–risk assessment of building infrastructures in hilly regions of India

Considering the ever-increasing landslide incidences in Indian Himalayas, a methodology has been presented to assess the risk to buildings constructed in the landslide-prone areas. Since landslide is a dynamic phenomenon, an inter-disciplinary approach is required for the assessment of elements at risk (buildings in this case). Therefore, a novel remote sensing and GIS-based semi-quantitative technique has been developed by integrating the concepts of landslide susceptibility zonation (LSZ), physical vulnerability (PV) and the proximity (Prox) of buildings from the influence zone (i.e. LSZ and drainage channels). In order to understand the acceptability of risk, the landslide risk (LR) has been categorized into three risk classes as class I (low risk), class II (moderate risk) and class III (high risk). This study aims to develop a systematic and easy to adopt methodology for hilly terrains of India in a scenario of historical data scarcity and also in line with the codal provisions of the country as well as the geographical conditions. The developed methodology is implemented in a test site of Gopeshwar Township, Chamoli District Headquarter, Uttarakhand State of India, covering an area of 8.39 km2 situated in the upper Alaknanda valley. This study will be useful in increasing the safety aspects of the infrastructures and lives and also for strategic governance of developmental activities in the times ahead, especially in developing countries.