The evolution of the Wanlixi landslide in Taiwan
Planet Labs satellite imagery highlights how the Wanlixi landslide in Taiwan evolved prior to the main failure on 21 June, and how it has continued to move subsequently. On 31 July 2026 I highlighted the valley-blocking Wanlixi landslide in Hualien County, Taiwan. The location of the landslide is 23.78859° N, 121.27236° E (for machine readable text that is: [23.78859, 121.27236] ). The latest news from the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency daily update is that “the lake is experiencing stable overflow with clear water; the dam structure has only experienced minor erosion and remains intact; the impact of the overflow on…
The 4 July 2026 landslide disaster at Cantzama in Ecuador
On 4 July 2026, 19 people were killed in a massive landslide in Zamora Chinchipe province, Ecuador. Planet Labs imagery shows that this was caused by a c.1 km long landslide that occurred 13 km upstream of Cantzama. This transitioned into a channelised debris flow that destroyed the community. On 4 July 2026, a massive landslide swept through Cantzama in Zamora Chinchipe province, Ecuador. News reports indicate that 19 people were killed and around 50 houses were destroyed or damaged. As is often the case with disasters of this type in places like Ecuador, this event garnered little press coverage…
The July 2005 rainfall-induced landslides in Yangshan (the Yang Mountains) in China
Extreme rainfall in July 2025 triggered numerous landslides and debris flows that killed over 60 people. Between 23 and 29 July 2025, the Yanshan (Yan Mountain) [41.0, 120.0] area of Hebei Province in China suffered extreme rainfall that triggered extensive flooding and landslides. As is so often the case in China, I found it difficult to get good information about this event at the time, but a good new paper (Xie et al. 2026) in the journal Landslides has provided a detailed review of this event. The paper is behind a paywall, but at the time of writing this link should…
Fatal landslides in July 2026
In July 2026 I recorded 48 fatal landslides causing 413 fatalities. This year continues to be atypical in terms of the temporal pattern of fatal landslides. This is my regular update for the number of fatal global landslides, focusing on July 2026. As usual, this data has been collected in line with the methodology described…
The 3 August 2026 landslide at the Debre Metmik Tsadkane Mariam Monastery in Ethiopia
A major landslide in the North Shewa Zone of Ethiopia has killed at least 14 pilgrims gathered at a monastery. On 3 August 2026, a significant landslide occurred at the Debre Metmik Tsadkane Mariam Monastery (often known as Tsadkane Mariam Monastery) in the North Shewa Zone of Ethiopia. There are 14 confirmed fatalities from this…
Submarine landslide inventory for the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake
High resolution bathymetric data has allowed submarine landslides triggered by the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake in New Zealand to be mapped (Gnesko et al. 2026). In total 853 slope failures were identified. I rarely feature submarine landslides in this blog – they are beyond my area of expertise – but I came across a really cool…
The valley-blocking Wanlixi landslide in Taiwan
In Taiwan, a large rockslide last month, the Wanlixi landslide, has blocked a river, creating a barrier lake with a volume of about 6 million cubic metres. In Taiwan, a large landslide has blocked the Wanli river in Hualien County. The hazard is being actively monitored by the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, who are…
Landslide Exposure in the United States
A new study provides a fascinating insight into the patterns of landslide exposure in the United States. The increased focus in recent years on the socio-economic aspects of landslides has been welcome. This area of understanding has lagged behind that for other hazards, possibly in part because of the lack on interest from the insurance…
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About Dave
Dave Petley is the Vice-Chancellor and President of Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. His blog provides commentary and analysis of landslide events occurring worldwide, including the landslides themselves, latest research, and conferences and meetings.