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. […]
East Asia
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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 […]
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The 15 June 2025 landslide at Zhonghe in western Guangdong province, China
A community in China had a narrow escape when a landslide, triggered by Typhoon Wutip, occurred on the slopes above the village. Fortunately, the population had been evacuated when a local woman noted signs that a failure might be imminent. At about 4 am on 15 June 2025, rainfall associated with the remnants of Typhoon […]
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Geological complexity as a way to understand the distribution of landslides
The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. Over the course of my career, I have read many papers (and indeed, written a few) that have tried to explain the distribution of landslides based upon combinations of factors that we […]
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The 8 May 2022 Baiyan rock avalanche in Guizhou, China
The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. On 8 May 2022, the catastrophic Baiyan rock avalanche occurred in Zhijin County, which is located in Guizhou Province, China. The digital lat/long is [26.63771, 105.69200]. I described this event at the time […]
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The July 2024 landslide cluster in Zixing County, Hunan Province, China
The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. Back in February I highlighted a Sixth Tone article about the extraordinary landslide cluster that was triggered by Typhoon Gaemi in Hunan Province in China between 26 and 28 July 2024. A […]