A GIS-Based Landslide Hazard Mapping in the City of Constantine, Northeast Algeria

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to prepare and compare the landslide hazard maps (LHMs) of the Constantine city, by applying frequency ratio (FR), logistic regression (LR) and weights of evidence (WOE) methods used in a framework of the Geographical Information System (GIS). Firstly, a landslide inventory map has been prepared based on the interpretation of aerial photographs, high resolution satellite images, fieldwork and available literature. Secondly, eight landslide-conditioning factors such as lithology, slope, exposure, rainfall, land use, distance to drainage, distance to road and distance to fault have been considered to establish LHMs using the FR, LR, and WOE models in GIS. For verification, the obtained LHMs have been validated comparing the LHMs with the known landslide locations using the receiver operating characteristics curves (ROC). The validated results indicate that the FR method provides more accurate prediction (86.59%) of LHMs than the WOE (82.38%) and LR (70.45%) models. On the other hand, the obtained results showed that all the used models in this study provided a good accuracy in predicting landslide hazard in Constantine city. The established maps can be used as useful tools for risk prevention and landuse planning in the Constantine region.