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Landslide Hazards Program

The primary objective of the National Landslide Hazards Program is to reduce long-term losses from landslide hazards by improving our understanding of the causes of ground failure and suggesting mitigation strategies.

News

In SF Bay, even an exceptionally wet year can’t supply enough sediment to keep pace with rising seas, new study finds

In SF Bay, even an exceptionally wet year can’t supply enough sediment to keep pace with rising seas, new study finds

Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Landslide Legacy

Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Landslide Legacy

USGS Awards a Dozen Landslide Risk Reduction Grants to Enhance Public Safety and Hazard Preparedness Nationwide

USGS Awards a Dozen Landslide Risk Reduction Grants to Enhance Public Safety and Hazard Preparedness Nationwide

Publications

Multi-site evaluation of a postfire debris-flow runout forecast method Multi-site evaluation of a postfire debris-flow runout forecast method

Postfire debris flows pose a hazard to human life, property, and infrastructure when they travel from steep source areas to urbanized alluvial fans or other developed areas. Existing methods for rapid (
Authors
Katherine R. Barnhart, Jason W. Kean, Donald N. Lindsay, Eric Leland Bilderback

Landsliding follows signatures of wildfire history and vegetative regrowth in a steep coastal shrubland Landsliding follows signatures of wildfire history and vegetative regrowth in a steep coastal shrubland

Five years after the deadly and destructive 9 January 2018 Montecito debris flows (Santa Barbara County, California, USA), an atmospheric river storm on 9 January 2023 triggered widespread landsliding that affected many of the same drainages in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Using high-resolution aerial imagery, we identified >10,000 landslides over an ∼160 km2 area. Most of the landslides...
Authors
Matthew A. Thomas, Donald N. Lindsay, Jason W. Kean, Andrew Paul Graber, Rebecca K. Rossi, Jaime Kostelnik, Francis K. Rengers, Jonathan Y. Schwartz, Brian J. Swanson, Nina S. Oakley, Paul W. Richardson, Alexander E. Morelan, Andrew C. Ritchie, Jonathan A. Warrick, Lindsey L. Rotche, Brian D. Penserini, Stephen L. Slaughter

Dynamic feedbacks between river meandering and landsliding in northwestern Washington glacial terraces Dynamic feedbacks between river meandering and landsliding in northwestern Washington glacial terraces

Landsliding in river valleys poses unique risks for cascading hazards and can damage infrastructure and cause fatalities. In postglacial valleys, many landslides are posited to occur in relation to lateral river erosion, but the dynamics of fluvial-hillslope interactions are not well understood. Here, we investigate a section of the Nooksack River in western Washington State where the...
Authors
Shelby Marie Ahrendt, Benjamin B. Mirus, Sean Richard LaHusen, Jonathan Patrick Perkins

Science

2026 Nepal Debris Avalanche and Flash Flood

On Wednesday morning (local time), 26 August 2026, a catastrophic debris flow and flood was likely triggered by rapid slope failure involving a glacier in Lāṅṭāṇ National Park, Nepal, near the border with China. This debris flow and flooding travelled nearly 100 km and impacted populated areas downstream along the Lende Kholā and Trishuli̇̄ Kholā rivers, including the Rasuwāgaḍhi̇̄ border post...
2026 Nepal Debris Avalanche and Flash Flood

2026 Nepal Debris Avalanche and Flash Flood

On Wednesday morning (local time), 26 August 2026, a catastrophic debris flow and flood was likely triggered by rapid slope failure involving a glacier in Lāṅṭāṇ National Park, Nepal, near the border with China. This debris flow and flooding travelled nearly 100 km and impacted populated areas downstream along the Lende Kholā and Trishuli̇̄ Kholā rivers, including the Rasuwāgaḍhi̇̄ border post...
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Rainfall and Landslides in Northern California

A summary of recent and past landslides and debris flows caused by rainfall in northern California, and links to current shallow landslide monitoring.
Rainfall and Landslides in Northern California

Rainfall and Landslides in Northern California

A summary of recent and past landslides and debris flows caused by rainfall in northern California, and links to current shallow landslide monitoring.
Learn More

2026 Venezuela Sequence Earthquake-Triggered Landslide Hazards

On Wednesday, June 24th, 2026, a pair of earthquakes of Magnitude 7.2 and Magnitude 7.5 occurred in northern Venezuela, west of Caracas. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Ground Failure product estimated that landslides triggered by this earthquake would likely be significant in number and/or spatial extent. This landslide event page serves to communicate timely science information to our partners...
2026 Venezuela Sequence Earthquake-Triggered Landslide Hazards

2026 Venezuela Sequence Earthquake-Triggered Landslide Hazards

On Wednesday, June 24th, 2026, a pair of earthquakes of Magnitude 7.2 and Magnitude 7.5 occurred in northern Venezuela, west of Caracas. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Ground Failure product estimated that landslides triggered by this earthquake would likely be significant in number and/or spatial extent. This landslide event page serves to communicate timely science information to our partners...
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Multimedia

Map of the landslide and flooding extent of the 2026 Nepal Debris Avalanche and Flash Flood
2026 Nepal Debris Avalanche and Flash Flood Map
2026 Nepal Debris Avalanche and Flash Flood Map
Photo of several landslide source areas in green hillside
2026 Hurricane Lala landslide source areas
2026 Hurricane Lala landslide source areas
Photo of landslide source area on green hillside
2026 Hurricane Lala landslide source area
2026 Hurricane Lala landslide source area
Photo of multiple landslide source areas
2026 Hurricane Lala landslide source areas
2026 Hurricane Lala landslide source areas
Upstream buried homes and trucks buried in mud and by large boulders and lots of wood
Upstream buried homes and trucks by large boulders and lots of wood after 2026 Hurricane Lala
Upstream buried homes and trucks by large boulders and lots of wood after 2026 Hurricane Lala
Fully destroyed trailer/home being excavated from mud
Fully destroyed trailer/home being excavated after 2026 Hurricane Lala
Fully destroyed trailer/home being excavated after 2026 Hurricane Lala
Photo of buried homes/buildings upstread of culvert
Buried homes/buildings upstream of culvert from 2026 Hurricane Lala
Buried homes/buildings upstream of culvert from 2026 Hurricane Lala
Photo of blocked culvert under roadway being cleaned out
Blocked culvert under roadway being cleaned out after 2026 Hurricane Lala landslides
Blocked culvert under roadway being cleaned out after 2026 Hurricane Lala landslides
Photo of landslide source area in a gully in weathered soil/regolith
2026 Hurricane Lala landslide source area 2
2026 Hurricane Lala landslide source area 2
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