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Landslides triggered by the August 2020 Mw 5.0 Mila, Algeria, earthquake: spatial distribution and susceptibility map**

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Abstract

About 270 landslides have been triggered in the Mila region (northeast Algeria) linked to the 7 August 2020 Mw 5 earthquake, but they have not been analyzed and mapped throughout the region. As a consequence, the potential link between the earthquake, faults, and the set of large landslides registered subsequently in the same region has not yet been studied, understood, and mapped. However, the geology and morphology of large and deep landslides lying dormant in the region, which could be reactivated in case of seismic activity, are located close to faults and present the same morphological characteristics as landslides triggered by the main shock. The aim of this paper is to present the relationship between the seismotectonic and large landslide distribution and to compare landslide susceptibility maps by the application of geographical information system (GIS)-based frequency ratio (FR) and weighting of evidence (Wi) statistical methods. A landslide inventory map was developed using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) post-seismic deformation maps, aerial photographs, and field survey investigations. The analysis of the spatial distribution of large landslides, together with information on aftershocks and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) sections, shows that the spatial distribution of large landslides is consistent with epicenter locations along a NW–SE axis and two NE–SW axes. Evidence of NE–SW faults related to a N120E striking dextral strike–slip fault is also discussed. Various factors are shown to be associated with landslide occurrence, such as lithology, distance to fault, slope degree, slope aspect, distance to rivers, drainage density, elevation, rainfall, peak ground acceleration (PGA) in soil and rock estimated according to the Mila earthquake (Mw = 5), and epicentral distance. The area under the curve (AUC) value of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve approach was used to confirm and validate the accuracy of the two models. The obtained AUC values were 89.05% and 87.57% for the FR and Wi models, respectively, indicating high levels of prediction accuracy. The large landslides triggered in the Mila region are found to be directly related to the seismotectonic structure, and a seismic sequence interspersed with moderate earthquakes over a short period. The results are presented as a landslide susceptibility map showing areas highly vulnerable to landslides and those with moderate and low vulnerability. It is expected that this will be very helpful for landslide prevention and infrastructure planning in Mila City.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Center of Research in Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Geophysics (CRAAG, Algeria) for providing the resources needed to succeed in this work. The present work is supported by the CRAAG research project.

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  1. CRAAG, Research Center in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Geophysics, BP 63, 16340, Bouzareah, Algeria

    Nassim Hallal, Mouloud Hamidatou, Lamine Hamai, Samir Aguemoune & Atmane Lamali

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  1. Nassim Hallal
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by H.N., H.M., H.L., A.S., and L.A. The first draft of the manuscript was written by H.N., and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Furthermore, each author certifies that this material or similar material has not been and will not be submitted to or published in any other publication before its appearance.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

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Hallal, N., Hamidatou, M., Hamai, L. et al. Landslides triggered by the August 2020 Mw 5.0 Mila, Algeria, earthquake: spatial distribution and susceptibility map**. Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-024-00471-w

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