Landslide dam formation susceptibility analysis based on geomorphic features

Global climate change has increased the frequency of abnormally high rainfall; such high rainfall events in recent years have occurred in the mountainous areas of Taiwan. This study identifies historical earthquake- and typhoon-induced landslide dam formations in Taiwan along with the geomorphic characteristics of the landslides. Two separate groups of landslides are examined which are classified as those that were dammed by river water and those that were not. Our methodology applies spatial analysis using geographic information system (GIS) and models the geomorphic features with 20 × 20 m digital terrain mapping. The Spot 6 satellite images after Typhoon Morakot were used for an interpretation of the landslide areas. The multivariate statistical analysis is also used to find which major factors contribute to the formation of a landslide dam. The objective is to identify the possible locations of landslide dams by the geomorphic features of landslide-prone slopes. The selected nine geomorphic features include landslide area, slope, aspect, length, width, elevation change, runout distance, average landslide elevation, and river width. Our four geomorphic indexes include stream power, form factor, topographic wetness, and elevation–relief ratio. The features of the 28 river-damming landslides and of the 59 non-damming landslides are used for multivariate statistical analysis by Fisher discriminant analysis and logistic regression analysis. The principal component analysis screened out eleven major geomorphic features for landslide area, slope, aspect, elevation change, length, width, runout distance, average elevation, form factor, river width, stream power, and topography wetness. Results show that the correctness by Fisher discriminant analysis was 68.0 % and was 70.8 % by logistic regression analysis. This study suggests that using logistic regression analysis as the assessment model for identifying the potential location of a landslide dam is beneficial. Landslide threshold equations applying the geomorphic features of slope angle, angle of landslide elevation change, and river width (HL/WR) to identify the potential formation of natural dams are proposed for analysis. Disaster prevention and mitigation measures are enhanced when the locations of potential landslide dams are identified; further, in order to benefit such measures, dam volume estimates responsible for breaches are key.