Degrading permafrost and earlier small quakes likely weakened a rock slope until it collapsed and buried an Arctic glacier in tons of rock.
Hazards & Disasters
Posted inEditors' Vox
Opening Access to Earth Observation Data for Disaster Mitigation
A new open access book explores how data from the latest ground-based, airborne, and space-based remote sensing observations inform and improve disaster resilience.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Landslides triggered by the 9 October 2026 Mw =7.7 earthquake in Panama
ESA Sentinel satellite images show that hundreds of landslides were triggered by the earthquake earlier this month. On 9 October 2026, a Mw 7.7 earthquake struck the Azuero Peninsula in Panama (epicentre at [7.587, -80.769]. This shallow (depth = 12.6 km) had the potential to trigger landslides in an area that has significant relief. Fortunately, the […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The Aberfan Disaster: a simple guide to what happened
To mark the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, I have reposted my (now unavailable) blog posts from a decade ago describing the tragedy. Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the terrible and tragic Aberfan landslide disaster in South Wales. Ten years ago I published a four part summary of what happened on that terrible […]
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Ambiguous Costs of Climate Change
To put a price tag on climate change, some approaches focus on whether it made an event more likely, whereas others focus on whether it made an event more severe and damaging. A new study examines the validity of both approaches.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Landslides in an El Niño year
The 2026-27 El Niño has reached record levels. However, evidence suggests that the impacts on landslides may differ from the popular narrative. Earlier this week, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology provided an update on the development of the 2026-27 El Niño event. The headline is stark:- “El Niño is at near-record levels. Both oceanic and […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The 11 October 2026 landslide and debris flow/flood on the Budhi Gandaki River in Gorkha district, Nepal
Information is emerging about this major event in Nepal. Helicopter video suggests that it was initiated by a very dynamic landslide – possibly a rock avalanche? On 11 October 2026, yet another major debris flow/flood occurred in Nepal, sweeping down the Budhi Gandaki River in Gorkha district. This has caused substantial damage, although not on […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The 25 January 2026 landslide at Niscemi in Sicily, Italy
On 25 January 2026, a very large landslide reactivated at Niscemi in Sicily, Italy. A new paper in the journal Landslides (Guerriero et al. 2026) describes the event. On 25 January 2026, a large landslide reactivated at Niscemi in SE Sicily, Italy. The landslide attracted a great deal of media attention. About 1,500 people were […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Landslides triggered by the 29 July to 1 August 2023 rainfall event associated with Typhoon Doksuri in northern China
A new paper (Xie et al. 2026) provides a detailed analysis of the landslides triggered by Typhoon Doksuri in northern China in 2023. Between 29 July and 1 August 2023, the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri triggered large numbers of landslides in northern China, most notably in the Taihang Mountains in Beijing, Hebei and Shanxi. Shortly […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The 31 August 2026 rainfall-triggered landslides in Rason City, North Korea
Satellite images have started to reveal the hundreds of shallow landslides and channelised debris flows triggered by a major rainfall event in North Korea at the end of August 2026. Although North Korea is landslide-prone, there is a paucity of information about the impacts and losses that occur there. Interestingly, NK Pro reported last month […]