A major landslide triggered by monsoon rainfall killed eight people this week. The failure occurred at the site of works for a new road tunnel – there is speculation that poor handling of excavated materials may have been the cause. Imagery suggests that the event might have been slightly more complex, though. On 7 July […]
monsoons
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Fatal landslides at the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh
Early in the morning of 6 July 2026, three fatal landslides killed eight people in the refugee camps housing the displaced Rohingya people in Bangladesh. There have long been fears of the potential for fatal landslides in the refugee camps Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh that house the Rohingya people who were ethnically cleansed from Myanmar. […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
A valley-blocking landslide in Lower Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India
A large landslide in India, triggered by monsoon rainfall, was captured on a remarkable video. On Monday 29 June 2026, a valley-blocking landsldie occurred on the Siji River in Lower Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India. I have yet to track down the precise location of this event, but it is in the region of [27.7146, […]
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Unbearable Heat for Hundreds of Millions
The Global South, in particular, is suffering from the consequences of global heating. A new study quantifies heat stress in India by projecting it during the critical seasons.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Surprising Link Between a Cold Blob and the Indian Monsoon
Climate processes that at first glance appear separate can actually be intimately linked, modeling shows.
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The prospects for the 2026 monsoon in South Asia
Forecasts for the 2026 South Asia monsoon are for below average rainfall, but some of the most landslide prone areas of India may receive totals that are above average. As usual, we are now starting to see the number of reported global fatal landslides increase as the northern hemisphere rainy season commences. In recent days, […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Fatal landslides in Nepal since 1968
Since 1968, there have been over 1,400 fatal landslides in Nepal, killing over 6,000 people. I’m currently writing a paper on the patterns of fatal landslides in Nepal since 1968. This is an update on the paper we wrote almost 20 years ago (Petley et al. 2007) that examined the changing patterns of landslides there. […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The exceptional occurrence of landslides in the 2025 South Asia summer monsoon
In NW India, rainfall in the 2025 monsoon was 27% above the long term average. Over 2,500 people were killed in India and Pakistan by landslides and floods as a result. In India and Pakistan, the 2025 summer monsoon generated unusual amount of landslide activity. I described some of these events along the way, most […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The cause of the 5 August 2025 Dharali disaster in India
Planet satellite imagery has started to reveal the events that killed 70 people at in northern India. It clearly indicates that intense rainfall triggered landslides that transitioned into channelised debris flows. On 5 August 2025, a series of terrifying landslides struck Dharali in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, northern India. I blogged about this at the time – the Wikipedia […]