GIS-Based Landslide Hazard Zonation Using Weighted Overlay Method (WOM) – A Case Study of National Highway-1, Kashmir Himalayas

This study presents a knowledge-driven weighted overlay method (WOM) for landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) along National highway-1, North Kashmir Himalaya, India. Landslides were mapped using high-resolution from primary as well as secondary sources. Knowledge-driven weighted overlay analysis of various influencing parameters such as elevation, geology, slope gradient, rainfall, slope curvature, Earthquake, proximity analysis (drainage, lineament, roads), and land use was used in the Landslide hazard analysis. The landslide influencing parameters were weighted because of their relative contribution towards landslide occurrences. The final LHZ map was classified into four hazard zones viz Very High (43.15 km2), High (267.19 km2), Moderate (162.09 km2), and Low (7.37 km2). Finally, an inventory of landslides was used to validate the resultant LHZ map. Therefore, the ROC-AUC method was employed for validation of the final LHZ map and was found to be practically significant. Furthermore, the WOM showed a reasonable prediction accuracy with an area under curve (AUC) value of 0.633. Moreover, the study revealed that Lagama, Chollan Kalsan, Uri Reservoir, boniyar, Nalusah, and Limber places are highly prone to landslide hazards. In contrast, rest areas are falling in medium to least prone to landslides. The study will be beneficial for policymakers and construction planners.