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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

USGS Seeks Landslide Risk Reduction Proposals (FY25)

USGS Seeks Landslide Risk Reduction Proposals (FY25)

USGS experts responding simultaneously to two major natural hazards

USGS experts responding simultaneously to two major natural hazards

USGS landslide event team activated in wake of Hurricane Helene

USGS landslide event team activated in wake of Hurricane Helene

Publications

Uncertainty reduction for subaerial landslide-tsunami hazards

Subaerial rock slopes may generate a tsunami by rapidly moving into the water. Large uncertainty in landslide characteristics propagates into large uncertainty in tsunami hazard, making hazard assessment more difficult for land and emergency managers. Once a potentially tsunamigenic landslide is identified, it may not be clear which landslide characteristics contribute most significantly...
Authors
Katherine R. Barnhart, David L. George, Andrew L. Collins, Lauren N. Schaefer, Dennis M. Staley

Using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio method to estimate thickness of the Barry Arm landslide, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Conducting detailed investigations of large landslides is difficult, especially in the subsurface, largely due to environmental factors such as steep slopes, difficult access, and numerous objective hazards. These factors have made it challenging to accurately estimate the depth to the failure surface of the Barry Arm landslide, a large (roughly 108 cubic meters), deep-seated bedrock...
Authors
Andrew L. Collins, Kate E. Allstadt, Dennis M. Staley

Parsimonious high-resolution landslide susceptibility modeling at continental scales

Landslide susceptibility maps are fundamental tools for risk reduction, but the coarse resolution of current continental-scale models is insufficient for local application. Complex relations between topographic and environmental attributes characterizing landslide susceptibility at local scales are not transferrable across areas without landslide data. Existing maps with multiple...
Authors
Benjamin B. Mirus, Gina Marie Belair, Nathan J. Wood, Jeanne M. Jones, Sabrina N. Martinez

Science

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Poplar Cove, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina Landslide Monitoring Site

Recent Monitoring Data
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Postfire Debris-flow Runout

Understanding how far debris flows can travel and what the impacts may be is one of the most important questions we face to effectively protect life and property from debris-flow hazards. Click the publications tab to learn more about debris-flow runout research at the USGS.
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Postfire Debris-flow Runout

Understanding how far debris flows can travel and what the impacts may be is one of the most important questions we face to effectively protect life and property from debris-flow hazards. Click the publications tab to learn more about debris-flow runout research at the USGS.
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Postfire Recovery

Steep and severely burned terrain is susceptible to flash floods and debris flows owing to the loss of hillslope vegetation and damage to the underlying soils. The USGS conducts research to evaluate the recovery of burned areas using field monitoring stations, satellite-based data, and numerical models. This work facilitates the development of USGS hazard assessment products that are geared to...
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Postfire Recovery

Steep and severely burned terrain is susceptible to flash floods and debris flows owing to the loss of hillslope vegetation and damage to the underlying soils. The USGS conducts research to evaluate the recovery of burned areas using field monitoring stations, satellite-based data, and numerical models. This work facilitates the development of USGS hazard assessment products that are geared to...
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Multimedia

snowcapped mountain peak surrounded by tree-covered hillslopes Understanding large rock slides in deglaciated valleys in the Central and Patagonian Andes
Understanding large rock slides in deglaciated valleys in the Central and Patagonian Andes
person standing in canyon on top of mud, rocks, and vegetation
Debris flow in the 2025 Eaton Fire burn area, California
Debris flow in the 2025 Eaton Fire burn area, California
hillslope partially covered by burned vegetation
Burned and unburned hillslopes, Eaton Fire, California
Burned and unburned hillslopes, Eaton Fire, California
person holding notebook and wearing hardhat lies on ground watching graduated cylinder and recording measurements
Soil property measurements in the Eaton Fire burn area, Angeles National Forest, California
Soil property measurements in the Eaton Fire burn area, Angeles National Forest, California
burned hillside with no ash and very sparse vegetation
A steep, burned hillside in the 2025 Eaton Fire, Los Angeles County, California.
A steep, burned hillside in the 2025 Eaton Fire, Los Angeles County, California.
Steep hillslope denuded of vegetation
A steep, burned hillside in the 2025 Eaton Fire, Los Angeles County, California.
A steep, burned hillside in the 2025 Eaton Fire, Los Angeles County, California.
Steep hillslope with loose sediment and burned vegetation
Dry ravel in the 2025 Eaton Fire burn area.
Dry ravel in the 2025 Eaton Fire burn area.
a dump truck and front loader remove debris in a mostly empty basin at the mountain front
West Ravine debris basin in Los Angeles County, California on January 20, 2025.
West Ravine debris basin in Los Angeles County, California on January 20, 2025.
a pile of large boulders and tree parts up against a guardrail next to a road Controls on post-fire debris flows in Oregon
Controls on post-fire debris flows in Oregon
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