ABSTRACT
The rising frequency of landslides during periods of intense rainfall, exemplified by instances such as the 2013 and 2023 North India Floods, underscores the necessity for developing landslide early warning systems on a territorial scale, i.e., Territorial Landslide Early Warning Systems (Te-LEWS). This study introduces a new approach to assess the feasibility of employing the Soil-Water Index (SWI) threshold for predicting debris slides and debris flows in the Himalayas, particularly in Uttarakhand, India. The framework involves leveraging satellite-derived data, the weather research and forecasting model (WRF), and reanalysis-based hourly precipitation data to determine historical landslide occurrences and their corresponding triggering rainfall intensities. Within the target region at various spatial resolutions, SWI thresholds are established through correlating hourly precipitation and past landslide events in a hindcast mode. This holistic approach offers a pathway for implementing complex rainfall threshold-based Te-LEWS in new geological settings, aiding in landslide disaster mitigation measures.
