Landslide susceptibility mapping is a critical task for risk management, yet many existing approaches struggle with limited accuracy and model instability. To address these challenges, this study develops a hybrid Artificial Neural Network (ANN) framework optimized with four metaheuristic algorithms (BHA, COA, MVO, and VSA). The case study is conducted in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, a region with sufficient landslide records for robust testing. The results show that the optimized ANN models achieved strong predictive performance, with Area Under the Curve (AUC) values exceeding 0.97 across training datasets. Among them, the MVO-MLP and COA-MLP models yielded the highest accuracy, highlighting the advantage of optimization in enhancing model robustness. Overall, the developed models predict landslide occurrence with more than 80% accuracy. These findings suggest that integrating optimization algorithms with neural networks provides a reliable, cost-effective approach for spatial modeling of landslide susceptibility. Furthermore, the proposed framework offers valuable insights for disaster preparedness, risk reduction, and emergency management strategies.
Çifçi et al. (Tue,) studied this question.