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.