Analysing the Causative Factors of Slope Failures Along Basohli-Bani Road, Jammu: Insights from Field Investigations, Geotechnical Approach and Frequency Ratio Approach of Landslide Susceptibility Mapping

ABSTRACT Landslides are the most severe geological hazards in hilly regions. Effective landslide management necessitates evaluation and hazard zonation. The current study investigates the triggering factors of landslides using field surveys, geotechnical investigations and frequency ratio approach of Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (LSM) along the Basohli-Bani Road stretch of Kathua District of Jammu, so that rapid mitigative measures could be proposed in order to stabilise the area. Landslide inventory of the study area was prepared through field investigations and Google Earth Pro. The slope’s stability was analysed using kinematic analysis, basic Rock Mass Rating (RMRb), Slope Mass Rating (SMR) and Continuous Slope Mass Rating (CoSMR) technique of the rock mass classification system. The results of kinematic analysis revealed wedge failure as the prevalent mode of failure, and the results of RMRb, SMR and CoSMR indicated that the parallelism between the orientation of slope and discontinuities is one of the dominant factors affecting the slope’s stability. In addition, the Frequency Ratio (FR) model of bivariate statistics of LSM revealed that the geological set-up of the study area and proximity to road are the other two dominant factors affecting the stability of the slope, followed by proximity to faults and rainfall. The LSM also revealed that 37.90% of the total area falls under the very low landslide susceptibility class, 30.70% falls under the low category, 21.86% under the moderate category, 6.68% under the high and 2.86% under the very high landslide susceptibility class. The present study proposes site-specific mitigation measures, which road maintenance authorities and other relevant organisations must implement to prevent further landslides in this sector.