Authors: Lakshman Srikanth and David Petley This article was first published on the UNDRR PreventionWeb site. A hazard event occurs. Imagine that the first report says 20 people have died. By the evening, the number is 27. The following day, authorities report 23. A week later, some people initially reported missing are confirmed alive, while others […]
Hazards & Disasters
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The landslide that caused the 26 August 2026 debris flow in Nepal and Tibet
Enough satellite and drone imagery is now available to allow some initial analysis of the landslide that started the 26 August 2026 debris flow in Nepal and Tibet. Much has been written over the last ten or so days about the tragic debris flow that has caused such high levels of damage and loss of […]
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Economic Costs of Solar Storms
Though less present in the public consciousness than hurricanes and wildfires, space weather represents a real and potentially significant threat to society.
Posted inResearch & Developments
Why Did the Grand Canyon Flood?
Last weekend, flash flooding in the Grand Canyon killed two, left one missing, and forced dozens to evacuate. On Monday, the National Park Service shared that approximately 40% of the Transcanyon Waterline—the national park’s only water pipeline—had been damaged or destroyed.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Communities Affected by Climate Change Need More Than Data
Researchers and residents in Puerto Rico collaborated on how NASA Earth Observations data can address environmental justice challenges and strengthen community resilience.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The 26 August 2026 catastrophic debris flow in Nepal and Tibet
The catastrophic debris flow that struck Nepal and Tibet today was triggered by the collapse of a glacier high in the mountains. Loyal readers will have seen the footage of the catastrophic debris flow that struck parts of Tibet and Nepal today, 26 August 2026. There is a variety of sources, of which the CCTV […]
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Long-Term Datasets are Essential to Understanding Coastal Change
A multi-decadal field dataset combined with reduced-complexity modeling approach highlights the importance of shoreline change in controlling alongshore variability of dune evolution.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Why Marine Heat Waves and Acidification Strike Together
A chemistry tug-of-war between ocean acidity and carbon in warming oceans determines when and where these damaging events strike.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The 18 August 2026 gold mine landslide at the Zamboye (Zamboï) mining site in the Central African Republic
At least 107 people were killed in major failure at an artisinal mine on the border with Cameroon. In the afternoon of 18 August 2026, a large landsldie occurred at an artisinal gold mine at Zamboye (also spelt Zamboï) in the Central African Republic. The landslide was caught on videos that have been widely shared […]
Posted inEditors' Vox
Decoding the Origins of Lightning’s Violent Currents
A compact set of physical equations delivers a unified, first-principles explanation for how lightning’s most destructive surge of current is born, races towards the clouds, and fades.