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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.
Northern and Central California Debris Flows-Jan 2021: geonarratives
A new geonarrative (Esri Story Map) summarizes four debris flows in northern and central California locations that were caused by rainstorms in January 2021.
Learn MoreHow Often Do Rainstorms Cause Debris Flows in Burned Areas...
In the SW U.S., wildfires and intense rainfall are both common occurrences. In burned areas, heavy rain over steep terrain can produce debris flows more so than in unburned areas due to changes in ground surface. How often do these events occur?
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Here is where to find some of our most popular content:
Emergency Assessment of Post-Fire Debris-Flow Hazards
Earthquake-Triggered Ground-Failure Inventories
All Research TopicsNews
Women of Hazards Featured During Women’s History Month on @USGS_Quakes Instagram
For Women’s History Month in March 2021 the @USGS_Quakes Instagram featured dozens of photos of female earthquake scientists and shout-outs with the hashtag #EarthquakeWomen from the Earthquake Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center and the Office of Communications and Publishing (OCAP).
Natural Hazards Newsletter - Vol. 2 | Issue Spring 2021
In this issue: When will Mauna Loa next Erupt?, ShakeOut rollout to the Pacific Northwest, Big Sur Landslides, new storymaps for earthquakes and wildfire science, expanding coverage of the "Total Water Level and Coastal Change Forecast" tools, New Reducing Risk 2021 projects, and more.
CONNECT! Natural Hazards Mission Area Facebook Account Exceeds 20K Followers, and New @USGS_Quakes Twitter Account Now Has More Than 200K Followers
Through coordinated communication activities, the Natural Hazards Mission Area is committed to sharing news and science with broad audiences. Social media is an important part of this communications portfolio.
Publications
Numerical analysis of the effect of subgrid variability in a physically based hydrological model on runoff, soil moisture, and slope stability
In coarse resolution hydrological modeling we face the problem of subgrid variability, the effects of which are difficult to express and are often hidden in the parameterization and calibration. We present a numerical experiment with the physically based hydrological model ParFlow‐CLM with which we quantify the effect of subgrid heterogeneities in...
Leonarduzzi, E.; Maxwell, R. M.; Mirus, Benjamin B.; Molnar, P. Incorporating the effects of complex soil layering and thickness local variability into distributed landslide susceptibility assessments
Incorporating the influence of soil layering and local variability into the parameterizations of physics-based numerical models for distributed landslide susceptibility assessments remains a challenge. Typical applications employ substantial simplifications including homogeneous soil units and soil-hydraulic properties assigned based only on...
Fusco, F.; Mirus, Benjamin B.; Baum, Rex L.; Calcaterra, D.; De Vita, P. Forecasting the frequency and magnitude of postfire debris flows across southern California
Southern California has a long history of damaging debris flows after wildfire. Despite recurrent loss, forecasts of the frequency and magnitude of postfire debris flows are not available for the region like they are for earthquakes. Instead, debris flow hazards are typically assessed in a reactive manner after wildfires. Such assessments are...
Kean, Jason W.; Staley, Dennis M.