Extreme rainfall in July 2025 triggered numerous landslides and debris flows that killed over 60 people. Between 23 and 29 July 2025, the Yanshan (Yan Mountain) [41.0, 120.0] area of Hebei Province in China suffered extreme rainfall that triggered extensive flooding and landslides. As is so often the case in China, I found it difficult to […]
Hazards & Disasters
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Fatal landslides in July 2026
In July 2026 I recorded 48 fatal landslides causing 413 fatalities. This year continues to be atypical in terms of the temporal pattern of fatal landslides. This is my regular update for the number of fatal global landslides, focusing on July 2026. As usual, this data has been collected in line with the methodology described […]
Posted inResearch & Developments
Climate Change Made This Summer’s Canadian Wildfires Twice as Likely
Wildfires in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and the Northwest Territories have burned more than 3.9 million hectares this summer, prompted widespread evacuation orders, and created poor air quality for not only Canadians, but more than 120 million people across the midwestern and northeastern United States. The fires spread exceptionally quickly, stressing the resources of local response agencies. About 700 fires are still active across Canada.
According to a new analysis, human-induced climate change and its contribution to fire conditions across Canada made these fires twice as likely to occur. The report is from World Weather Attribution, an international climate science partnership.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Does Social Vulnerability Evolve After a Tropical Cyclone?
An initial rise in the social vulnerability index is followed by a decrease, but that decrease comes with a catch.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The 3 August 2026 landslide at the Debre Metmik Tsadkane Mariam Monastery in Ethiopia
A major landslide in the North Shewa Zone of Ethiopia has killed at least 14 pilgrims gathered at a monastery. On 3 August 2026, a significant landslide occurred at the Debre Metmik Tsadkane Mariam Monastery (often known as Tsadkane Mariam Monastery) in the North Shewa Zone of Ethiopia. There are 14 confirmed fatalities from this […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Submarine landslide inventory for the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake
High resolution bathymetric data has allowed submarine landslides triggered by the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake in New Zealand to be mapped (Gnesko et al. 2026). In total 853 slope failures were identified. I rarely feature submarine landslides in this blog – they are beyond my area of expertise – but I came across a really cool […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The valley-blocking Wanlixi landslide in Taiwan
In Taiwan, a large rockslide last month, the Wanlixi landslide, has blocked a river, creating a barrier lake with a volume of about 6 million cubic metres. In Taiwan, a large landslide has blocked the Wanli river in Hualien County. The hazard is being actively monitored by the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, who are […]
Posted inResearch & Developments
Climate Change Made Spain Wildfires At Least 20 Times More Likely
Over the past two weeks, large wildfires in southwestern France and central Spain have burned 255,000 hectares, displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and created extremely poor air quality even hundreds of kilometers away. Though firefighters have now contained the major fires, a forecasted heat wave and windy weather are threatening to worsen the situation.
Climate change played a role in creating the conditions for these fires to burn and spread, a new analysis has found.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Landslide Exposure in the United States
A new study provides a fascinating insight into the patterns of landslide exposure in the United States. The increased focus in recent years on the socio-economic aspects of landslides has been welcome. This area of understanding has lagged behind that for other hazards, possibly in part because of the lack on interest from the insurance […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Fatal landslides in June 2026
In June 2026 I recorded 48 fatal landslides causing 131 fatalities. 2026 continues to be atypical in terms of the temporal pattern of fatal landslides. This is my regular update for the number of fatal global landslides, focusing on June 2026. As usual, this data has been collected in line with the methodology described in Froude […]