At least 15 people are known to have been killed by the debris flow and flood from the landslide dam breach that was triggered by typhoon Ragasa. The extremely intense rainfall brought by super typhoon Ragasa triggered the overtopping of the landslide dam at Matai’an in Taiwan on 23 September 2025. This was not a […]
Taiwan
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Evacuations ordered downstream of the Matai’an landslide dam in Taiwan
Extremely heavy rainfall associated with super typhoon Ragasa could cause the Matai-an landslide dam to overtop in the next two days. In East Asia, super typhoon Ragasa is moving westwards between Taiwan and the Philippines. At the time of writing, Earth Cut TV has a live feed from the Batanes Islands, almost in the path […]
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An update on the 21 July 2025 rock avalanche in the Matia’an valley, in Wanrong township in eastern Taiwan.
Following the passage Typhoon Podul, the lake created by this massive landslide has now grown considerably. Overtopping is expected in October, although could occur sooner if further heavy rainfall occurs. The landslide-dammed lake behind the the enormous 21 July 2025 rock avalanche in the Matia’an valley, in Wanrong township in eastern Taiwan continues to fill. […]
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The challenges of the valley blocking landslide in the Matia’an Valley in Wanrong township, Taiwan
The 21 July 2025 rock avalanche is generating a lake that could have a volume of 86 million cubic metres at the point of overtopping. This poses a threat to at least seven downstream communities in east Taiwan. Yesterday, I posted about the enormous 21 July 2025 rock avalanche in the Matia’an valley, in Wanrong […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
The 21 July 2025 giant rock avalanche in Wanrong township, Taiwan
On 21 July 2025, a very large rock avalanche occurred in the mountains of Hualien County, Taiwan. Initial measurements suggest that this ran out over about 6 km. On 21 July 2025, an extremely large rock avalanche occurred in the administrative area of Wanrong Township in Hualien Count in Taiwan. This event was detected on […]
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The 16 October 2022 Cilan Landslide in Taiwan
The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. In a paper just published in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Chang et al. (2025) describe the 16 October 2022 Cilan Landslide in Taiwan. The research is fascinating, using […]
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Seismotectonic Update of the Philippines-Taiwan Region
Using more than two decades of data, scientists find that the Philippine and Taiwan subduction region is controlled mainly by shallow seismicity and low magnitude earthquakes.
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Landslides on the Shakadang Trail, Taroko, Taiwan
The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. It is unsurprising that the news cycle has mostly moved on from the 3 April 2024 Hualien earthquake in Taiwan. On the ground, activity continues to deal with the aftermath of the […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Early warning and rockfalls in the 3 April 2024 Mw=7.4 Hualien earthquake
The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. Yesterday, very interesting dashcam footage emerged of rockfalls triggered by the 3 April 2024 Mw=7.4 Hualien earthquake. The footage is dramatic in itself, but also serves to highlight the value of earthquake […]
Posted inThe Landslide Blog
Landslides in Taroko Gorge from the 3 April 2024 Taiwan Earthquake
The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. A day after the Mw=7.4 Taiwan Earthquake, it is increasingly clear that the major impacts from the event, and its aftershocks, have resulted from landslides rather than building collapses. This is a […]