Digital inventory of landslides and related deposits in honduras triggered by hurricane Mitch

Intense rainfall from 1998 Hurricane Mitch, triggered in excess of 500,000 landslides, particularly debris flows, throughout the country. Landslides damaged an estimated 70% of the road network in Honduras. Numbers of fatalities due to landslides are not accurately known due to the fact that numerous small villages throughout Honduras lost residents to landslides without an official count being recorded. A conservative estimate would place the number at near 1,000. Several areas of highly concentrated landslides have been responsible for much of the flooding problem as well. Huge sediment influxes from landslide source areas near La Ceiba, La Libertád, Marale, and in several arms of El Cajón Reservoir have reduced stream capacities to practically nothing and have exacerbated flooding conditions in even the moderate rainfall seasons since Hurricane Mitch. The ongoing hazard to communities from landslides triggered during Hurricane Mitch are being analyzed using aerial photography taken by the U.S. Air Force and by supplemental photography taken by local contractors. Through the use of digital elevation models derived from 1:50,000-scale topographic maps and geologic maps, landslide susceptibility maps will be derived to aid land-use planning and relocation efforts.