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 […]
Hazards & Disasters
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The tragic 23 September 2025 Matai’an landslide dam breach in Taiwan
At least 15 people are known to have been killed by the debris flow and flood from the landslide dam breach that was triggered by typhoon Ragasa. The extremely intense rainfall brought by super typhoon Ragasa triggered the overtopping of the landslide dam at Matai’an in Taiwan on 23 September 2025. This was not a […]
Posted inNews
Volcanic Eruptions in One Hemisphere Linked to Floods in the Opposite One
Asymmetric volcanic plumes may shift equatorial weather patterns and increase tropical stream flow, according to new simulations.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
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 […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The strange case of the 31 August 2025 landslides in Sudan
Local reports suggested that over 1,500 people died in this event, and a high death toll was reported by some international agencies. However, examination of satellite imagery casts significant doubt on this interpretation. It has been widely reported that on 31 August 2025, a devastating landslide occurred at Tarasin (there are various spellings of this […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The cause of the 5 August 2025 Dharali disaster in India
Planet satellite imagery has started to reveal the events that killed 70 people at in northern India. It clearly indicates that intense rainfall triggered landslides that transitioned into channelised debris flows. On 5 August 2025, a series of terrifying landslides struck Dharali in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, northern India. I blogged about this at the time – the Wikipedia […]
Posted inEditors' Highlights
New Perspectives on Energy Sinks During Seismic Events
Laboratory earthquakes shed new light on energy partitioning during earthquakes, which is allocated to seismic radiation, creation of new surfaces, and heat dissipation.
Posted inOpinions
Environmental Hazard Impact Metrics That Matter
Humans acutely experience climate change when they encounter extreme environmental conditions, but scientific definitions of “extreme” often don’t reflect communities’ complex lived experiences.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Extreme Heat in U.S. Cities Revealed at High Resolution
Data from personal weather stations power a novel way to detect urban heat islands.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The 26 August 2025 landslide on the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route in India
On 26 August 2025, a landslide triggered by extraordinary rainfall killed at least 34 people and injured another 20 individuals. On 26 August 2025, extremely intense late monsoon rainfall struck parts of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India, triggering extensive flooding and landslides. Unfortunately, a significant landslide occurred on the route to the Vaishno Devi […]