Regional-Scale Debris-Flow Susceptibility Modelling. A case study in the Rocky Mountains

This study outlines the datasets and techniques employed to evaluate debris-flow runout susceptibility in the Valemount region, located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The research spans an area of approximately 1200 km². A comprehensive landslide inventory exists for this region, which maps historical debris-flows by delineating both source zones and valley deposits. The inventory distinguishes between hillslope and channelized debris-flows, enabling separate modelling approaches for these phenomena. The outputs of both models were integrated to classify the region according to its vulnerability to debris-flow runout events. Landslide datasets independent of the training process were used for map validation and optimization. The results demonstrate a strong ability of the models to differentiate between areas likely to form debris-flow fans and regions outside the expected runout paths.