ASSESSMENT OF LANDSLIDE HAZARD VULNERABILITY-CASE STUDY OF AREAS AROUND SOCHE HILL, IN BLANTYRE CITY, SOUTHERN MALAWI

The study was conducted in areas surrounding Soche Hill in Blantyre city. The area was chosen for the purpose of this study since it has been experiencing several landslide events though most of them were not recorded. In addition, there has been increased urbanization due to population growth thereby people expanding their settlements to unstable parts of the hill increasing their level of vulnerability. A total of 20 buildings surrounding this hill were purposively sampled and using a checklist that was developed stating the building characteristics, it was possible to categorize the buildings into three vulnerability levels; high, medium, and low vulnerability levels after further analysis. From this study, it was found that 14 buildings are more vulnerable, 6 buildings have medium vulnerability and no building is less vulnerable. Finally, a vulnerability map of the area was produced using ArcGIS 10.5 that will assist Blantyre City council to take proper mitigation measures like land use zonation and thereby encouraging those who are settling in this hazard zone constructing strong buildings that can withstand any future landslide events.

The area was chosen for the purpose of this study since it has been experiencing several landslide events though most of them were not recorded. In addition, there has been increased urbanization due to population growth thereby people expanding their settlements to unstable parts of the hill increasing their level of vulnerability. A total of 20 buildings surrounding this hill were purposively sampled and using a checklist that was developed stating the building characteristics, it was possible to categorize the buildings into three vulnerability levels; high, medium, and low vulnerability levels after further analysis. Finally, a vulnerability map of the area was produced using ArcGIS 10.5 that will assist Blantyre City council to take proper mitigation measures like land use zonation and thereby encouraging those who are settling in this hazard zone constructing strong buildings that can withstand any future landslide events.

Blantyre city is located at 15°47’06’’S and 35°00’30’’E in the southern region of Malawi. The city covers an area of 220 square kilometers, has a population of 800,264 people and has the highest population density in the country. The district has annual population growth of 2.0% with a population density of 3587 (NSO, 2018). Soche Hill has an elevation of 5000ft and lies on 15°50’25.38”S and 35°01’22.67”E and is surrounded by areas like Chilobwe, Chimwankhunda and Kapeni.

Blantyre district lies 1024m above sea level. Its climate is mild and generally warm and temperate. The average temperature is 20.7°C and about 1086mm of precipitation falls annually. Areas around Soche hill are susceptible to landslide hazards due to landslide events that occur in Soche hill and also people in the areas are constructing their houses on the slopes of the hill increasing their exposure to such events. Therefore, this explains why these areas were chosen to be the study area

Traditional authority: Blantyre City

District: Blantyre

Coordinates: -15.7955, 35.04405