Planet Labs image of the 13 January 2026 landslide at Burutsi village, in the Democratic Republic of Congo
A new satellite image confirms that over 15 houses were buried in a landslide that took the lives of almost 30 people. Back on 15 January, I wrote about the 3 January 2026 landslide at Burutsi village, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This landslide killed 28 people and injured 20 more. This is a remote area, so getting detailed information about the location is very challenging. It is also very cloudy, limiting satellite imagery. However, on 21 January 2028, Planet Labs captured an image of the area using one of their Super Dove instruments. This is the image, draped…
Early news about the 22 January 2026 landslide at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand
Eight people have been killed or are missing in two landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in New Zealand Substantial parts of New Zeealand have been suffering extreme rainfall – yet again – causing floods and landslides. The most serious event to date occurred at a camp site at Mount Maunganui on the Bay of Plenty in the North Island. Here, a landslide devastated a campsite close to the coast. Unfortunately, January is the main summer holiday period in New Zealand. Stuff has a video of the landslide as it occurred. Meanwhile, The Guardian has a Youtube video with imagery of the…
The underlying causes of the 8 February 2025 Junlian rock avalanche in Sichuan Province, China
A new paper (Jia et al. 2026) has found that the 8 February 2025 Junlian rock avalanche was caused by progressive weakening of the rock mass through wetting and drying cycles. On 8 February 2025, the major Junlian rock avalanche landslide occurred at Jinping Village in Sichuan Province, China. A paper (Jia et al. 2026) has now been published in the journal Landslides that provides more details about the possible causes of this event. This link should provide access to the paper. An earlier paper (Zhao et al. 2025), which I noted in June, has already described this landslide. This is a…
The mental health impact of landslide disasters
A new study (Akhila et al. 2025) in the the journal Development in Practice examines the mental health impacts of the 30 July 2024 Wayanad landslides in India. In this blog, I generally provide a commentary on recent landslide events and a review of subsequent studies of landslides. I regularly discuss the impacts on the…
Landslides triggered by Typhoon Doksuri in northern China in July 2023
New research indicates that over 100,000 landslides were triggered by a single rainstorm. Back in July 2023, the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri swept across northern China, bringing exceptional rainfall. I briefly covered this at the time, but there was a lack of clear information about the impacts. A technical note has been published in the…
The evolving landslide threat at Farwell Canyon on the Chilcotin River in British Columbia
There are concerns about the potential impact of an incipient landslide at Farwell Canyon on the Chilcotin River in British Columbia, Canada. On 30 July 2024, a large landslide occurred on the Chilcotin River in British Columbia, Canada, blocking the flow. The scale of the landslide was massive – on the BC website about the…
The 13 January 2026 landslide at Burutsi village, in the Kashebere area of Walikale Territory, Democratic Republic of Congo
A rainfall-induced landslide at Burutsi is now known to have killed 28 people. At about 1 am local time on 13 January 2026, a large landslide occurred at Burutsi village, which is located in the Kashebere area of Walikale Territory, Democratic Republic of Congo. Local news reports indicate that 28 people were killed in the…
Binaliw: the massive garbage landslide in Cebu City, the Philippines
Recovery operations continue for the 36 victims of the 8 January 2026 garbage landslide in the Philippines. Recovery operations are continuing at the site of the 8 January 2026 landslide at Binaliw in Cebu, the Philippines. At the time of writing, it is reported that the bodies of eight victims have been recovered, whilst 28…
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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.