Some excellent before and after imagery is now available showing the evolution of the Matai’an landslide dam. The active GIS/spatial analysis community in Taiwan has produced some fascinating analysis of the Matai’an landslide. Much of this has been posted to Facebook (which is not my favourite platform, but sometimes you have to go where the […]
East Asia
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The aftermath of the Matai’an landslide and dam breach in Taiwan
Good digital data is now being published that presents the scale of landscape change that occurred as a result of the Matai’an landslide hazard cascade. There is also interesting information about the root causes of the vulnerability of the town of Guangfu, where the fatalities occurred. Some interesting information is now emerging about the Matai’an […]
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The aftermath of the Matai’an landslide in Taiwan
It is likely that the final death toll from the collapse of the Matai’an landslide dam will be 25 people. The dust is literally settling in the aftermath of the breach of the Matai’an landslide dam in Taiwan. The current estimates for the loss are life are 18 fatalities with seven more missing, and a […]
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Evacuations ordered downstream of the Matai’an landslide dam in Taiwan
Extremely heavy rainfall associated with super typhoon Ragasa could cause the Matai-an landslide dam to overtop in the next two days. In East Asia, super typhoon Ragasa is moving westwards between Taiwan and the Philippines. At the time of writing, Earth Cut TV has a live feed from the Batanes Islands, almost in the path […]
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An update on the 21 July 2025 rock avalanche in the Matia’an valley, in Wanrong township in eastern Taiwan.
Following the passage Typhoon Podul, the lake created by this massive landslide has now grown considerably. Overtopping is expected in October, although could occur sooner if further heavy rainfall occurs. The landslide-dammed lake behind the the enormous 21 July 2025 rock avalanche in the Matia’an valley, in Wanrong township in eastern Taiwan continues to fill. […]
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The 7 August 2025 landslides and debris flows in Yuzhong County, Gansu Province
At least 43 people were killed in devastating landslides and debris flows in northern China. Planet Labs images provide an insight into this disaster. It is extremely challenging to keep up with the landslides occurring around the world at the moment. There has been a lot of attention paid to the remarkable rock slope failure […]
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The challenges of the valley blocking landslide in the Matia’an Valley in Wanrong township, Taiwan
The 21 July 2025 rock avalanche is generating a lake that could have a volume of 86 million cubic metres at the point of overtopping. This poses a threat to at least seven downstream communities in east Taiwan. Yesterday, I posted about the enormous 21 July 2025 rock avalanche in the Matia’an valley, in Wanrong […]
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The 21 July 2025 giant rock avalanche in Wanrong township, Taiwan
On 21 July 2025, a very large rock avalanche occurred in the mountains of Hualien County, Taiwan. Initial measurements suggest that this ran out over about 6 km. On 21 July 2025, an extremely large rock avalanche occurred in the administrative area of Wanrong Township in Hualien Count in Taiwan. This event was detected on […]
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The 24 June 2025 landslide at Houzihé Grand Bridge in Guizhou, China
A significant landslide has destroyed a major bridge on the Xiarong Expressway in Guizhou, China. On 24 June 2025, intense rainfall triggered a significant landslide at the site of the Houzihé Grand Bridge, which is a part of the Xiarong Expressway (a key road that is also known as Xiamen–Chengdu Expressway (route G76). The landslide […]
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The 3 August 2024 debris flow in the Ridi valley, Kangding, Sichuan Province, China
27 people were killed by a massive channelised debris flow in China last year. On 3 August 2024, a large debris flow occurred in the Ridi valley, Kangding, Sichuan Province, China. This event is described in a paper (Cheng et al. 2025) just published in the journal Landslides. Whilst the paper itself is behind a […]