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How many deaths result from landslides each year?

An average of 25-50 people are killed by landslides each year in the United States. The worldwide death toll per year due to landslides is in the thousands. Most landslide fatalities are from rock falls, debris flows, or volcanic debris flows (called lahars).

Twenty-three people were killed, at least 167 injured, and more than 400 homes were damaged by a series of debris flows that impacted the California community of Montecito in Santa Barbara County on January 9, 2018. The debris flows were triggered by heavy rain that fell on steep hillsides that had been burned by the Thomas Wildfire, which at that time was the largest wildfire in California history.

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