An initial rise in the social vulnerability index is followed by a decrease, but that decrease comes with a catch.
Hazards & Disasters
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 […]
Posted inNews
What Drives Derechos? The First Derecho Archive Could Help Meteorologists Figure It Out.
Researchers can now use 70 years of data to examine the conditions that create these destructive windstorms.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The 17-21 May 2026 landslides in Shimen County, Hunan, China
Satellite images show two very large landslides and multiple smaller failures, and channelised debris flows, in Shimen County in China. In China, this year rainy season started with an intense event that covered the provinces of Guizhou, Hubei and Hunan in the period between 17 and 21 May 2026. There were some news reports at […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Reactivation of the Mauao landslide in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
A significant reactivation occurred over the weekend of the 22 January 2026 Mauao landslide in Tauranga. Loyal readers will remember my posts on the Mauao landslide in Mount Maunganui in New Zealand on 22 January 2026, which killed six people. Over the weekend, heavy rainfall caused the landslide to reactivate. Fortunately, in this case there […]