Multiple geo-environmental hazards susceptibility assessment: a case study in Luoning County, Henan Province, China

Abstract

It is of great significance to conduct an assessment of the susceptibility of certain area to geo-environmental hazards that are intended land-use planning, for hazard prevention. This study first evaluated the four geo-environmental hazards susceptibility in Luoning County using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Then, Barrel Principle was used to render a comprehensive hazard susceptibility map, reflecting the stability level of the regional geo-environment. Results showed that the geo-environmental hazards susceptibility area can be graded into four levels, including high-susceptibility, moderate-susceptibility, low-susceptibility, and stable, accounting for 25.3%, 44.8%, 26.5%, and 3.4% of the study area, respectively. Success rate curve was applied to validate the accuracy of the single-hazard susceptibility map produced using the AHP. The results showed that the landslide, rockfall, and goaf collapse susceptibility maps had a success rate of 83.28%, 77.07%, and 85.19%, respectively. Therefore, the single susceptibility map can be helpful for hazard assessment and land-use planning. Finally, a comprehensive susceptibility map was used to select areas of priority for urban development and prevent and mitigate natural hazards that occur.