Abstract:
Landslides are among the most dangerous geohazards. Frameworks developed in previous
studies to assess landslide prevention have relied on machine learning, artificial
intelligence, and probabilistic methods that require substantial expertise and resources.
Furthermore, the collective use of geotechnical, governance, and demographic factors for
prioritizing landslide prevention projects has not been explored much. There exists the need
of prioritizing factors which are important for preventing landslide prevention. To achieve
this, factors such as ‘area topography’ and ‘Rainfall’ are identified that can be associated
with the prevention of landslides. After identifying 21 such factors from previous studies,
their relevance for landslide prevention is ensured through an expert survey. These factors
are categorized into four groups using Alford’s Theory of political interest and Evidencebased policy making theory. In the final step the relative significance of these factors is
determined for which pair-wise comparisons of factors are made using questionnaire
survey of disaster management experts. These pairwise comparisons are analyzed using
Analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The results showed that earthquakes history is the
most important factor to prioritize landslide projects in an area, followed by ‘rainfall
density’ and governance will’ to manage such hazards. This study contributes to practice
by ranking the factors which are important for preventing landslide prevention. This list
can be used to develop decision-making frameworks so that different landslide projects in
a region can be prioritized. Findings of this study can enable management to make wellinformed choices in landslide prevention projects while considering their budget
constraints and allocate resources, optimally.
