GIS Methodology for Zonification of Slope Stability under Earthquakes

Recent earthquakes in Colombia have shown the great importance of landslide triggering. Considering these conditions, a study was carried out to develop a methodology for zonification of slope stability under earthquakes, based on representative variables of geomorphology, geology and soil profiles. This methodology covered compilation of existing information about geological, geomorphologic and geotechnical studies, analyses of earthquake ground response, definition of dynamic behavior of representative soil profiles, and development of topographical and geotechnical models taking full advantage of Geographical Information System (GIS) tools. This paper describes the resulting GIS methodology and discusses its reliability, based on its application to simulate triggering of landslides in the city of Armenia (Colombia), using the 1999 Armenia earthquake