Assessment of Geohazards and Preventative Countermeasures Using AHP Incorporated with GIS in Lanzhou, China

Hai-Min Lyu, Jack Shuilong Shen and Arul Arulrajah
Additional contact information
Hai-Min Lyu: State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean, and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Jack Shuilong Shen: State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean, and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Arul Arulrajah: Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-21

Abstract: This research investigates geohazards and preventative countermeasures for Lanzhou City, China. To investigate the factors related to the development of geohazards in Lanzhou, the regional geological conditions around Lanzhou were investigated. The geomorphology of the region is comprised of a loess landform underlying quaternary loess deposits. A large number of faults induced by strong neotectonic movements are present in the area. Therefore, earthquakes frequently occur around Lanzhou. Earthquakes cause numerous rock falls and landslides, with landslide masses found scattered on the upper middle level of the area’s mountains. When intense rainfall occurs, a lot of loose deposits are brought together along steep gullies, forming debris flows; hence, a disaster chain of earthquake–landslide–debris flow is formed. To evaluate the georisks around Lanzhou, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed to assess geohazards. The spatial distribution of the evaluated georisk levels was mapped using a Geographic Information System (GIS). Based on the assessed results, about 55% of the urban area and 44% of Gaolan County have high or very high-risk levels. The ratio of relatively high disaster risk levels is up to 31% of the total area. To mitigate these geohazards, both strategic decision making and technical countermeasures should be implemented.

Keywords: geohazards; risk assessment; AHP and GIS; prevention countermeasures; Lanzhou City (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/304/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/304/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:304-:d:128562

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().