Landslide vulnerability mapping (LVM) using weighted linear combination (WLC) model through remote sensing and GIS techniques

Weighted linear combination (WLC) method was used to assess landslides vulnerability of the Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea within the GIS environment of ArcGIS. This multi-criteria evaluation method allows flexibility and tradeoffs amongst all parameters used. Ranks and weights are assigned depending on their influence on the occurrence of landslides. Parameters selected for the study include slope angle, elevation, rainfall, vegetation cover, land use/land cover, landform, proximity to roads, proximity to rivers and proximity to lineaments. Restricted in some sense in terms of data, WLC was appropriate in using existing metadata of the country; Papua New Guinea Resource Information System and Forest Information Management System. The landslide susceptibility map provides valuable information of the risk at hand in the province and district levels to better manage and plan mitigation measures. The slope factor was assigned a weighted of 4 as having greater influence on landslides in the region followed by rainfall weighted of 2 and the other having uniform influence of 1. The study area shows the distribution of the five vulnerability/susceptibility classes ranking from very low (1) to very high (5). Areas with very high landslide vulnerability zones are found in the northern and western parts of Simbu Province. Comparatively, southern parts have very low vulnerability areas. From the calculations done, 6.21 % of area is at very low risk, 20.24 % at low risk, 32.27 % of moderate risk, 26.88 % of high risk and 14.41 % of very high risk area coverage. © 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.