WebGIS-based information management system for landslides triggered by Wenchuan earthquake

A digital landslide database has been created for Sichuan province, where a magnitude 8.0 earthquake at 2:28 p.m. on May 12, 2008, to provide the authorities and scientific communities with a tool for landslide risk assessment, emergency management, land-use planning, development of early warning system and enhancement of public awareness of natural hazards. Landslide data have been obtained from a variety of sources including technical reports and landslide inventory maps, and most of which were based on fieldwork and interpretation of aerial photographs. This paper presents the sources of landslide information, database design and the webGIS-based information management system. The database currently contains spatial information for about 9,000 landslides that were mostly triggered by the earthquake. Slide is the most common type of landslide in the database, but other types including rockfall and debris flow have also been identified. The website is an online GIS, providing access to comprehensive landslide information via the Internet. The development of the website allowed us to define the state of knowledge on landslide processes in Sichuan and to provide a preliminary identification of areas affected by landslides.