Comprehensive landslide susceptibility map of Central Asia

Central Asia is an area characterized by complex tectonics and active deformation; the related seismic activity controls the earthquake hazard level that, due to the occurrence of secondary and tertiary effects, also has direct implications for the hazard related to mass movements such aslandslides, which are responsible for an extensive number of casualtiesevery year. Climatically, this region is characterized by strong rainfallgradient contrasts due to the diversity of climate and vegetation zones.The region is drained by large, partly snow- and glacier-fed rivers thatcross or terminate in arid forelands; therefore, it is also affected by asignificant river flood hazard, mainly in spring and summer seasons. Thechallenge posed by the combination of different hazards can only be tackled byconsidering a multi-hazard approach harmonized among the differentcountries, in agreement with the requirements of the Sendai Framework forDisaster Risk Reduction. This work was carried out within the framework ofthe Strengthening Financial Resilience and Accelerating Risk Reduction in Central Asia (SFRARR) project as part of a multi-hazard approach and isfocused on the first landslide susceptibility analysis at a regional scalefor Central Asia. To this aim the most detailed landslide inventories,covering both national and transboundary territories, were implemented in arandom forest model, together with several independent variables. Theproposed approach represents an innovation in terms of resolution (from 30to 70 m) and extension of the analyzed area with respect to previousregional landslide susceptibility and hazard zonation models applied inCentral Asia. The final aim was to provide a useful tool for landuse planning and risk reduction strategies for landslide scientists,practitioners, and administrators.