Eight people have been killed or are missing in two landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in New Zealand Substantial parts of New Zeealand have been suffering extreme rainfall – yet again – causing floods and landslides. The most serious event to date occurred at a camp site at Mount Maunganui on the Bay of Plenty in […]
Hazards & Disasters
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The underlying causes of the 8 February 2025 Junlian rock avalanche in Sichuan Province, China
A new paper (Jia et al. 2026) has found that the 8 February 2025 Junlian rock avalanche was caused by progressive weakening of the rock mass through wetting and drying cycles. On 8 February 2025, the major Junlian rock avalanche landslide occurred at Jinping Village in Sichuan Province, China. A paper (Jia et al. 2026) […]
Posted inEditors' Highlights
How Satellite Data Helped Avoid Hunger from Drought
Satellites detecting anomalies of the spectral reflectance of crops in Uganda successfully foretold imminent crop failure and automatically triggered timely governmental disaster relief.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The mental health impact of landslide disasters
A new study (Akhila et al. 2025) in the the journal Development in Practice examines the mental health impacts of the 30 July 2024 Wayanad landslides in India. In this blog, I generally provide a commentary on recent landslide events and a review of subsequent studies of landslides. I regularly discuss the impacts on the […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Landslides triggered by Typhoon Doksuri in northern China in July 2023
New research indicates that over 100,000 landslides were triggered by a single rainstorm. Back in July 2023, the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri swept across northern China, bringing exceptional rainfall. I briefly covered this at the time, but there was a lack of clear information about the impacts. A technical note has been published in the […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The evolving landslide threat at Farwell Canyon on the Chilcotin River in British Columbia
There are concerns about the potential impact of an incipient landslide at Farwell Canyon on the Chilcotin River in British Columbia, Canada. On 30 July 2024, a large landslide occurred on the Chilcotin River in British Columbia, Canada, blocking the flow. The scale of the landslide was massive – on the BC website about the […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The 13 January 2026 landslide at Burutsi village, in the Kashebere area of Walikale Territory, Democratic Republic of Congo
A rainfall-induced landslide at Burutsi is now known to have killed 28 people. At about 1 am local time on 13 January 2026, a large landslide occurred at Burutsi village, which is located in the Kashebere area of Walikale Territory, Democratic Republic of Congo. Local news reports indicate that 28 people were killed in the […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Binaliw: the massive garbage landslide in Cebu City, the Philippines
Recovery operations continue for the 36 victims of the 8 January 2026 garbage landslide in the Philippines. Recovery operations are continuing at the site of the 8 January 2026 landslide at Binaliw in Cebu, the Philippines. At the time of writing, it is reported that the bodies of eight victims have been recovered, whilst 28 […]
Posted inFeatures
The Looming Data Loss That Threatens Public Safety and Prosperity
Cuts to funding and staff needed to maintain trusted datasets of reference Earth system observations could limit their availability and quality, undermining hazard predictions and risk assessments.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The shifting pattern of landslide risk in cities – an interesting case study from Medellín
An fascinating case study from the 24 June 2025 Granizal landslide in Medellín, Colombia, which killed 27 people and destroyed 50 homes, shows demonstrates that it is not just the urban poor that are exposed to landslides. That urban areas can be subject to high levels of landslide risk is well-established – commonly cited examples […]