Landslide susceptibility assessment in urbanized areas: example from flysch Carpathians, Czech Republic

The ongoing development of landslide prone regions increases future potential losses caused by landslide occurrence. The first step towards landslide mitigation on a regional scale is a susceptibility assessment. This study focuses on the area surrounding the regional capital of Zlín, in the Outer Western Carpathians. The city is located in the flysch highlands. Statistical analysis of the distribution of landslide scarps was undertaken in relation to various preparatory factors (geology, slope angle, slope aspect, slope curvature, distance from closest stream). This analysis provided insights into the main initiating factors and allowed our results to be compared with other studies in similar regions. Thereafter, a regional landslide susceptibility assessment was undertaken. The model performance was evaluated with respect to the landslide information used during its preparation and with a separate validation dataset. The results show that the main predisposing factors are the claystone rich bedrock unit, thick accumulations of slope sediments, and slope angles between 10° and 15°. The possible application of the presented results for urban planning purposes is also outlined.