RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANDSLIDE GEO-HAZARD AND LAND USE POLICY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

Recent passage of major tropical storms through North Carolina (tropical storm Cindy, 2005; hurricanes Frances and Ivan, 2004) have triggered debris flows and other types of mass wasting events in mountainous regions of North Carolina. Increased development in western North Carolina exposes more people to landslide hazards. The objective of this study is to develop a model that will analyze geologic information such as slope of the land, soil type, rock formations, precipitation patterns, and landslide history and incorporate policy factors such as “strictness” of land development to illustrate landslide hazards. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and HAZUS will be used to develop a model that could be used to identify areas with high landslide susceptibility. Spatial statistics will then be used to study relationship between “strictness” of the land development regulations and landslide susceptibility factors. Once a correlation has been determined (or lack thereof), the second part of the study will examine possible relationships between land development codes and non-geological factors, such as education, income, population density and land prices in selected west North Carolina counties.