The knowledge rules of debris flow event: A case study for investigation Chen Yu Lan River, Taiwan

Debris flow, one of the most active hydrological processes, brings about a great loss of life and properties in the Chen Yu Lan River area, Nan-Tou County, Taiwan. The goal of this study is to manage and monitor the debris flows in a vast area. Thus, the strategy is to collect hydraulical and in-situ data easily and quickly through our spatial information system. Then, a novel Data Mining technique will be developed to find a rule-based knowledge system of debris flow. The entire study can be divided into two parts. In the first part, using spatial information the debris flow image is extracted from the outbreak area. The system provides precise positional information pertaining to the debris flow events. Attributes such as effective watershed area, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and slope are automatically obtained from the system. In the second part of this study, K-mean theory is used to classify the observed hydraulical and in-situ data into different categories. Then, the ‘Effective Rough Set’ method is successfully used to analyze the factors influencing the debris flow phenomenon and delivers rational knowledge rules. The contribution of this study is presented that NDVI, slope and effective watershed area are the major factors influencing debris flow in the study area. The knowledge rules can provide better understanding on the elevation of high potential debris catchments.