Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Catastrophic Landslides of the 20th Century - Worldwide

Active
By Landslide Hazards Program June 25, 2018

Table of the Catastrophic Landslides including year, country, triggering process, the volume of material, impact, and comments.

Year

 		 Country



(State/

Province)		 Name

&

Type(s)*		 Triggering

Process

Volume

 IMPACT COMMENTS
1911

 		 Tadzhik Rep.

(Formerly USSR)		 Usoy rock

slide3		 Usoy

earthquake

M = 7.4		 2.0 x

109 m3		 Destroyed Usoy

village; 54 killed;

dammed

Murgab River,

impounding

65-km long still

existing Lake Sarez		 Casualties low

because of

sparse

population
1919

 		 Indonesia

(Java)		 Kalut lahars

(Volcanic

udflows)47,39,4		 Eruption of

Kalut volcano		 185 km2

5,110 killed;

104 villages destroyed

or damaged

 Draining of

Crater Lake

caused hot

mud flows
1920 China

(Ningxia)		 Haiyuan

landslides5,9		 Haiyuan

earthquake		 ??? 100,000 killed;

many villages destroyed		 675 large loess

landslides created

more than 40 lakes
1921 Kazakh Rep.

(formerly

USSR)		 Alma-Ata

debris flow45		 Snowmelt ??? 500 killed Debris flow in

Valley of

Alma-Atinka River
1933 China

(Sichuan)		 Deixi

landslides22		 Deixi

earthquake

M = 7.5		 >150 x

 106 m3		 6,800 killed by

landslides;

2,500 drowned

when landslide dam

failed		 Earthquake caused

several major

landslides; largest

formed 255-m-high

dam on Min River
1939 Japan

(Hyogo)		 Mount Rokko

slides and

mudflows26,29		 Heavy rain ??? 505 dead/missing;

130,000 homes

destroyed or badly

damaged by mass

movements and/or floods		 Caused by major typhoon;

0-90% of impact

of Japanese typhoons

caused by mass

movements
1949 Tadzhik Rep.

(formerly

USSR)		 Khait rock

slide13,44		 Khait

earthquake

M = 7.5		 ??? 12,000 - 20,000 killed

or missing;

33 villages destroyed		 Began as rock slide;

transformed into large

loess and granite

debris avalanche
1953 Japan

(Wakayama)		 Arita River

slides and

debris/mud flows26		 Heavy rain ??? 460 dead/missing;

4,772 homes

destroyed by mass movements/floods

Caused by major typhoon;

50-90% of impact of

Japanese typhoons caused by mass movements
1953 Japan

(Kyoto)		 Minamiy-

amashiro

slides &

debris/mud

flows26		 Heavy rain ??? 336 dead/missing;

5,122 homes

destroyed or badly

damaged by mass movements/floods		 "
1958 Japan

(Shizuoka)		 Kanogawa

slides and

mud/debris

flows26		 Heavy rain ??? 1,094 dead/missing;

19,754 homes

destroyed or badly

damaged by mass movements/floods		 "
1962 Peru

(Ancash)		 Nevados

Huascaran

debris

avalanche24,27		 ??? 13 x

 106 m3		 4,000-5,000 killed;

much of village of

Ranrahirca destroyed		 Major debris avalanche

from Nevados Huascaran;

average velocity 170

km/hour
1963 Italy

(Friuli-

venezia-

Griulia)		 Vaiont

Reservoir

rockslide12,16,28		 ??? 250 x

106 m3		 2,000 killed; city

of Longarone badly

damaged; total damages:

US$200 million (1963 $)

High-velocity rock slide

into Vaiont Reservoir caused 100-m waves

to overtop Vaiont Dam
1964 United States

(Alaska)		 1964 Alaska

landslides11,46		 Prince William

Sound Earthquake

M = 9.4		 ??? Estimated

US$280

million

(1964 $) damages		 Major landslide damage

in cities of Anchorage,

Valdez, Whittier,

Seward
1965 China

(Yunnan)		 Rock slide21 ??? 450 x

106 m3		 Four villages; 444 dead Occurred at

“high speed”
1966 Brazil

(Rio de

Janeiro)		 Rio de Janeiro

slides,

avalanches,

debris/mud

flows8,14		 Heavy rain ??? 1,000 dead from

landslides and floods		 Many landslides

in Rio de Janeiro

and environs
1967 Brazil

(Serra

das Araras)		 Serra das

Araras slides,

avalanches,

debris/mud

flows8,14		 Heavy rain ??? 1,700 dead from

landslides and floods		 Many landslides

in mountains

SW of Rio de Janeiro
1970 Peru

(Ancash)		 Nevados

Huascaran

debris

valanche6,31,32		 Earthquake

M = 7.7		 30-50 x 106 m3 18,000 dead; town

of Yungay destroyed;

Ranrahirca partially

destroyed		 Debris avalanche

from same peak

as in 1962; attained

average velocity of

280 km/hr
1974 Peru

(Huanca-

velica)		 Mayunmarca

rock slide-

debris

avalanche19,20		 Rainfall?

River erosion?		 1.6 x

109 m3		 Mayunmarca village

destroyed, 450 killed;

failure of 150-m-high

landslide dam

caused major

downstream flooding		 Debris avalanche with

average velocity of

140 km/hr. dammed

Mantaro River
1980 United States

(Washington)		 Mount St.

Helens rock

slide-debris

avalanche33,42		 Eruption of

Mount St.

Helens		 2.8 x

109 m3		 World 1s largest historic

landslide; only 5-10

killed, but major

destruction of homes,

highways, etc.; major

debris flow; deaths

low because of evacuation

Evacuation saved lives;

began as rock slide;

deteriorated into 23-km-long debris

avalanche with

average velocity of

125 km/hr.; surface

remobilized into 95-

km-long debris flow
1983 United States

(Utah)		 Thistle debris

slide15,38		 Snowmelt

& heavy rain		 21 x

106 m3		 Destroyed major

railroad and highways;

dammed Spanish Fork

flooding town of Thistle;

no deaths		 Total losses:

US$600 million (1983 $)

—50% direct losses,

50% indirect losses
1983 China

(Gansu)		 Saleshan

landslide21,43		 ??? 35 x

 106 m3		 237 dead; buried four

villages; filled two

reservoirs		 Loess landslide
1985 Colombia

(Tolima)		 Nevado del

Ruiz debris

flows25,41		 Eruption of

Nevado del Ruiz		 ??? Four towns and villages

destroyed; flow in valley

of Lagunillas River

killed more than 20,000

in city of Armero.		 Death toll

unnecessarily

large because

hazard warnings

not passed to

residents
1986 Papua, New

Guinea (East

New Britain)		 Bairaman Rock

slide-debris

avalanche17,18		 Bairaman

earthquake

M = 7.1		 200 x

106 m3		 Village of Bairaman

destroyed by debris

flow from breached l

andslide dam; evacuation prevented casualties;

huge effect on local

landscape		 Debris avalanche

formed 210-m-high

dam that impounded

50-million m3 lake;

dam failed, causing

100m-deep debris

flow-flood downstream.
1987 Ecuador

(Napo)		 Reventador

landslides34,35		 Reventador

earthquakes

M = 6.1 and 6.9		 75-110 x

106  m3		 1,000 killed; many kms

of trans-Ecuadorian

oil pipeline and

highway destroyed;

total losses: US$ 1 billion (1987 $)		 Land sliding mainly

in saturated, residual

soils on steep slopes;

thousands of thin

slides remobilized

into debris flows

in tributary and

main drainages.
1994 Colombia

(Cauca)		 Paez

landslides23,35		 Paez

earthquake,

M = 6.4		 250 km2 Several villages partially

destroyed by landslides;

271 dead; 1,700 missing;

158 injured; 12,000

displaced.		 Thousands of thin,

residual-soil slides

on steep slopes

turned into

damaging debris

flows in tributary

and main

drainages.
1998 Honduras,

Guatemala,

Nicaragua,

El Salvador		 Hurricane

MitchM1,M2,M3

flooding
  • Landslides
  • debris-flows
 Hurricane

Mitch		   Approximately 10,000

people killed in the

flooding and landslides,

which occurred

throughout the region.

Casitas volcano in

Nicaragua experienced

large debris flows.

Impossible to

differentiate deaths

from landslides from

deaths due to flooding.		 180-mile per

hour winds

affected Honduras primarily.

Torrential rains occurred,

at the rate of 4 inches per

hour. Large landslides in Tegucigalpa

and elsewhere.

 

Source for Table

(Modified from) Schuster, R.L., 1996. The 25 most catastrophic landslides of the 20th century, in Chacon, Irigaray and Fernandez (eds.), Landslides, Proc. Of the 8th International Conf. & Field Trip on Landslides, Granada, Spain, 27-28 Sept. Rotterdam: Balkema.

*References for Table

  1. Advisory Committee on the International Decade for Natural Hazard Reduction 1987. Confronting natural disasters—an International Decade for Natural Hazard Reduction. National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences, 60 p., Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
  2. Bates, R.L. and J.A. Jackson (eds.) 1987. Glossary of geology, 788 p., Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.
  3. Bolt, B.A., W.L. Horn, G.A. Macdonald and R.F. Scott, 1975. Geological Hazards, 328 p., New York: Springer-Verlag.
  4. Brand, E.W., 1984. Landslides in Southeast Asia: a state-of-the-art report. In Proceedings, 4th Int'l. Symposium on Landslides 1:17–59. Toronto: Canadian Geotechnical Society.
  5. Close, U., and McCormick, 1922. Where the mountains walked. National Geographic Magazine, 41:5:445-464.
  6. Cluff, L.S., 1971. Peru earthquake of May 31, 1970. Engineering Geology Observations. Seismological Society of America Bulletin, 61:3:511-521.
  7. Cruden, D.M. and D.J. Varnes, 1996. Landslide types and processes. Chapter 3 in A.K. Turner and R.L. Schuster (eds.), Landslides Investigation and Mitigation. Transportation Research Board Special Report 247:36-75. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
  8. Da Costa Nunes, A.J., A.M.M. Costa Couto e Fonseca and R.E. Hunt, 1979. Landslides of Brazil. Chapter 11 in B.Voight (ed.) Rockslides and Avalanches, 2, Engineering Sites, p. 419-446. New York: Elsevier.
  9. Feng, X. and A. Guo, 1985. Earthquake landslides in China. In proceedings, 4th International Conference and Field Workshop on Landslides, pp. 339-346. Tokyo: Japan Landslide society.
  10. Gasiev, E., 1984. Study of the Usoy landslide in Pamir. In Proceedings, 4th International Symposium on Landslides, 1:511-515. Toronto; Canadian Geotechnical Society.
  11. Hansen, W.R., 1965. Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964 at Anchorage, Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 542-A, 68 p., Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  12. Hendron, A.J., Jr., and F.D. Patton, 1985. The Vaiont slide: a geotechnical analysis based on new geologic observations of the failure surface. Waterways Experiment Station Technical Report, 1:104p. Vicksburg, Mississippi: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  13. Jaroff, L., 1977. Forecasting the earth s convulsions. In Nature/Science Annual, pp. 21-33. New York: Time-Life Books.
  14. Jones, F.O., 1973. Landslides in Rio de Janeiro and the Serra das Araras escarpment, Brazil. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 697, 42 p. Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office.
  15. Kaliser, B.N., 1983. Geologic hazards of 1983. Survey Notes, pp. 3-8, Salt Lake City: Utah Geological and Mineral Survey.
  16. Kiersch, G.A., 1964. Vaiont Reservoir disaster. Civil Engineering 4:3:32-39.
  17. King, J., 1987. The Bairaman Valley debris flow. In Proceedings, 5th International Conference and Field Workshop on Landslides, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1-12 August, pp. 27-235.
  18. King, J., I. Loveday, and R.L. Schuster, 1989. The 1985 Baraman landslide dam and resulting debris flow, Papua New Guinea. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 22:4:257-270.
  19. Kojan, K.L. and J.N. Hutchinson, 1978. Mayunmarca rockslide and debris flow, Peru. In B. Voight (ed.), Rockslides and Avalanches, 1, Natural Phenomena, pp. 316-361. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  20. Lee, K.L., and J.M. Duncan, 1975. Landslide of April 25, 1974 on the Mantaro River, Peru. Washington, D.C.: Committee on Natural Disasters, 72 p. National Academy of Sciences.
  21. Li, Tianchi, 1990. Landslide management in the mountain areas of China. ICIMOD Occasional Paper 15:50 p.
  22. Li, Tianchi, Schuster, R.L., and Wu Jishan, 1986. Landslide dams in southwestern China. In R.L. Schuster (ed.), Processes, Risk, and Mitigation, pp. 146-162. American Society of Civil Engineers Special Publication3.
  23. Martinez, J.M., Avila, G., Agudelo, A., Schuster, R.L., Casadevall, T.J., and K.M. Scott, 1995. Landslides and debris flows triggered by the 6 June 1994 Paez earthquake, southwestern Colombia. Landslide News, no. 9:13-15. Kyoto: Japan Landslide Society.
  24. McDowell, B., and J.E. Fletcher, 1962. Avalanche. National Geographic Magazine, 121:855-880.
  25. Mileti, D.S., Bolton, P.A., Fernandez, G., and R.G. Updike, 1991. The eruption of Nevado del Ruiz volcano, Colombia, South America, November 13, 1985. Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council, Natural Disaster Studies, 4:109 p., Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
  26. Ministry of Construction, 1983. Reference manual on erosion control works (in Japanese), 386 p. Japan: Erosion Control Department.
  27. Morales, B., 1966. The Huascaran avalanche in the Santa Valley, Peru. In Proceedings, International Symposium on Scientific Aspects of Snow and Ice Avalanches, 5-10 April 1965. Davos, Switzerland: International Association of Scientific Hydrology Publication No. 69: pp. 304-315.
  28. Muller, L., 1968. The rock slide in the Vaiont Valley. Rock Mechanics and Engineering Geology, 2:148-212.
  29. Nakano, T., Kadomura, H., Mizutani, T., Okuda, M., and T. Sekiguchi, 1974. Natural hazards report from Japan. In G.F. White (ed.), Natural Hazards Local, National, Global, 8:231-243, New York: Oxford University Press.
  30. Oyagi, N., 1989. Geological and economic extent of landslides in Japan and Korea. In E.E. Brabb and B.L. Harrod (eds.), Landslides Extent and Economic Significance, Proceedings of the 28th International Geolgoical Congress, Symposium on Landslides, 17 July, pp. 289-302. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
  31. Plafker, G., Ericksen, G.E., and J. Fernandez Concha, 1971. Geological aspects of the May 31, 1979 Peru earthquake. Seismological Society of America Bulletin, 61:3:543-578.
  32. Plafker, G. and G.E. Ericksen, 1978. Nevados Huascaran avalanches. Chapter 8 In B. Voight (ed.), Rockslides and Avalanches, 1, Natural Phenomena, pp. 277-314. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  33. Schuster, R.L., 1983. Engineering aspects of the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruptions. Bulletin of the Association of Engineering Geologists, 20:2:125-143.
  34. Schuster, R.L., (ed.)1991. The March 5, 1987, Ecuador earthquakes–mass wasting and economic effects. Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences, Natural Disaster Studies 5:163 p. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
  35. Schuster, R.L., 1995. Landslides and floods triggered by the June 6, 1994, Paez earthquake, southwestern Colombia. Association of Engineering Geologists, AEG News 38:1:32-33.
  36. Schuster, R.L., Nieto, A.S., O'Rourke, T.D., Crespo, E., and G. Plaza-Nieto, 1995. Mass wasting triggered by the 5 March 1987 Ecuador earthquakes. Engineering Geology. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  37. United States Department of Commerce, 1995. Statistical abstract of the United States—the national data book. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1,045 p.
  38. University of Utah, 1984. Flooding and landslides in Utah—an economic impact analysis. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Res., Utah Department of Community and Economic Development, and Utah Office of Planning and Budget, 123 p.
  39. Van Bemmelen, R.W., 1970. The geology of Indonesia, Vol. 1A, general geology of Indonesia and adjacent archipelagoes, 732 p., The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
  40. Varnes, D.J., 1981. Slope-stability problems of the Circum-Pacific region as related to mineral and energy resources. In M.T. Halbouty (ed.), Energy Resources of the Pacific Region. American Association Petroleum Geologists Studies in Geology, 12:489-505.
  41. Voight, B., 1990. The Nevado del Ruiz volcano catastrophe; anatomy and retrospection. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Resources, 44:349-386.
  42. Voight, B., Janda, R.J., Glicken, H., and P.M. Douglass, 1983. Nature and mechanisms of the Mount St. Helens rockslide avalanche of 18 May 1980. Geotechnique, 33:3:243-273.
  43. Wang, G., and B. Xu, 1984. Brief introduction of landslides in loess in China. In Proceedings, 4th International Symposium on Landslides, 16-21 September, 2:197-207. Toronto: Canadian Geotechnical Society.
  44. Wesson, C.V.X., and R.L. Wesson, 1975. Odyssey to Tadzhik—an American family joins a Soviet seismological expedition. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Information Bulletin, 7:1:8-16.
  45. Yesenov, Y.,E., and A.S. Degovets, 1982. Protection of the city of Alma-Ata from mud-rock flows. In A.I. Sheko (ed.). Landslides and Mudflows—Reports of the Alma-Ata International Seminar, October, pp. 454-465. Moscow: Centre of International Projects, GKNT.
  46. Youd, T.L., 1978. Major cause of earthquake damage is ground failure. Civil Engineering, 48:4:47-51.
  47. Zen, M.T., and D. Hadikusumo, 1965. The future danger of Mt. Kelut (eastern Java-Indonesia). Bulletin Volcanologique, ser. 2:28:275-282.

Publications for Hurricane Mitch

  1. Crone, Anthony J., Rex L. Baum, David J. Lidke, Damon N.D. Sather, Lee-Ann Bradley and Arthur C. Tarr, 2001. Landslides Induced by Hurricane Mitch in El Salvador—An Inventory and Descriptions of Selected Features, U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report 01-0444.
  2. Bucknam, Robert C., Jeffrey A. Coe, Manuel Mota Chavarria, Jonathan W. Godt, Arthur C. Tarr, Lee-Ann Bradley, Sharon Rafferty, Dean Hancock, Richard L. Dart, and Margo L. Johnson, 2001. Landslides Triggered by Hurricane Mitch in Guatemala—Inventory and Discussion, U.S. Geological Survey Open-file report 01-0443.
  3. Cannon, Susan H., Kathleen M. Haller, Ingrid Ekstrom, Eugene S. Schweig III, Graziella Devoli, David W. Moore, Sharon A. Rafferty, and Arthur C. Tarr, 2001. Landslide Response to Hurricane Mitch Rainfall in Seven Study Areas in Nicaragua, U.S. Geological Survey Open-file report 01-0412A.

Table of the Catastrophic Landslides including year, country, triggering process, the volume of material, impact, and comments.

Year

 		 Country



(State/

Province)		 Name

&

Type(s)*		 Triggering

Process

Volume

 IMPACT COMMENTS
1911

 		 Tadzhik Rep.

(Formerly USSR)		 Usoy rock

slide3		 Usoy

earthquake

M = 7.4		 2.0 x

109 m3		 Destroyed Usoy

village; 54 killed;

dammed

Murgab River,

impounding

65-km long still

existing Lake Sarez		 Casualties low

because of

sparse

population
1919

 		 Indonesia

(Java)		 Kalut lahars

(Volcanic

udflows)47,39,4		 Eruption of

Kalut volcano		 185 km2

5,110 killed;

104 villages destroyed

or damaged

 Draining of

Crater Lake

caused hot

mud flows
1920 China

(Ningxia)		 Haiyuan

landslides5,9		 Haiyuan

earthquake		 ??? 100,000 killed;

many villages destroyed		 675 large loess

landslides created

more than 40 lakes
1921 Kazakh Rep.

(formerly

USSR)		 Alma-Ata

debris flow45		 Snowmelt ??? 500 killed Debris flow in

Valley of

Alma-Atinka River
1933 China

(Sichuan)		 Deixi

landslides22		 Deixi

earthquake

M = 7.5		 >150 x

 106 m3		 6,800 killed by

landslides;

2,500 drowned

when landslide dam

failed		 Earthquake caused

several major

landslides; largest

formed 255-m-high

dam on Min River
1939 Japan

(Hyogo)		 Mount Rokko

slides and

mudflows26,29		 Heavy rain ??? 505 dead/missing;

130,000 homes

destroyed or badly

damaged by mass

movements and/or floods		 Caused by major typhoon;

0-90% of impact

of Japanese typhoons

caused by mass

movements
1949 Tadzhik Rep.

(formerly

USSR)		 Khait rock

slide13,44		 Khait

earthquake

M = 7.5		 ??? 12,000 - 20,000 killed

or missing;

33 villages destroyed		 Began as rock slide;

transformed into large

loess and granite

debris avalanche
1953 Japan

(Wakayama)		 Arita River

slides and

debris/mud flows26		 Heavy rain ??? 460 dead/missing;

4,772 homes

destroyed by mass movements/floods

Caused by major typhoon;

50-90% of impact of

Japanese typhoons caused by mass movements
1953 Japan

(Kyoto)		 Minamiy-

amashiro

slides &

debris/mud

flows26		 Heavy rain ??? 336 dead/missing;

5,122 homes

destroyed or badly

damaged by mass movements/floods		 "
1958 Japan

(Shizuoka)		 Kanogawa

slides and

mud/debris

flows26		 Heavy rain ??? 1,094 dead/missing;

19,754 homes

destroyed or badly

damaged by mass movements/floods		 "
1962 Peru

(Ancash)		 Nevados

Huascaran

debris

avalanche24,27		 ??? 13 x

 106 m3		 4,000-5,000 killed;

much of village of

Ranrahirca destroyed		 Major debris avalanche

from Nevados Huascaran;

average velocity 170

km/hour
1963 Italy

(Friuli-

venezia-

Griulia)		 Vaiont

Reservoir

rockslide12,16,28		 ??? 250 x

106 m3		 2,000 killed; city

of Longarone badly

damaged; total damages:

US$200 million (1963 $)

High-velocity rock slide

into Vaiont Reservoir caused 100-m waves

to overtop Vaiont Dam
1964 United States

(Alaska)		 1964 Alaska

landslides11,46		 Prince William

Sound Earthquake

M = 9.4		 ??? Estimated

US$280

million

(1964 $) damages		 Major landslide damage

in cities of Anchorage,

Valdez, Whittier,

Seward
1965 China

(Yunnan)		 Rock slide21 ??? 450 x

106 m3		 Four villages; 444 dead Occurred at

“high speed”
1966 Brazil

(Rio de

Janeiro)		 Rio de Janeiro

slides,

avalanches,

debris/mud

flows8,14		 Heavy rain ??? 1,000 dead from

landslides and floods		 Many landslides

in Rio de Janeiro

and environs
1967 Brazil

(Serra

das Araras)		 Serra das

Araras slides,

avalanches,

debris/mud

flows8,14		 Heavy rain ??? 1,700 dead from

landslides and floods		 Many landslides

in mountains

SW of Rio de Janeiro
1970 Peru

(Ancash)		 Nevados

Huascaran

debris

valanche6,31,32		 Earthquake

M = 7.7		 30-50 x 106 m3 18,000 dead; town

of Yungay destroyed;

Ranrahirca partially

destroyed		 Debris avalanche

from same peak

as in 1962; attained

average velocity of

280 km/hr
1974 Peru

(Huanca-

velica)		 Mayunmarca

rock slide-

debris

avalanche19,20		 Rainfall?

River erosion?		 1.6 x

109 m3		 Mayunmarca village

destroyed, 450 killed;

failure of 150-m-high

landslide dam

caused major

downstream flooding		 Debris avalanche with

average velocity of

140 km/hr. dammed

Mantaro River
1980 United States

(Washington)		 Mount St.

Helens rock

slide-debris

avalanche33,42		 Eruption of

Mount St.

Helens		 2.8 x

109 m3		 World 1s largest historic

landslide; only 5-10

killed, but major

destruction of homes,

highways, etc.; major

debris flow; deaths

low because of evacuation

Evacuation saved lives;

began as rock slide;

deteriorated into 23-km-long debris

avalanche with

average velocity of

125 km/hr.; surface

remobilized into 95-

km-long debris flow
1983 United States

(Utah)		 Thistle debris

slide15,38		 Snowmelt

& heavy rain		 21 x

106 m3		 Destroyed major

railroad and highways;

dammed Spanish Fork

flooding town of Thistle;

no deaths		 Total losses:

US$600 million (1983 $)

—50% direct losses,

50% indirect losses
1983 China

(Gansu)		 Saleshan

landslide21,43		 ??? 35 x

 106 m3		 237 dead; buried four

villages; filled two

reservoirs		 Loess landslide
1985 Colombia

(Tolima)		 Nevado del

Ruiz debris

flows25,41		 Eruption of

Nevado del Ruiz		 ??? Four towns and villages

destroyed; flow in valley

of Lagunillas River

killed more than 20,000

in city of Armero.		 Death toll

unnecessarily

large because

hazard warnings

not passed to

residents
1986 Papua, New

Guinea (East

New Britain)		 Bairaman Rock

slide-debris

avalanche17,18		 Bairaman

earthquake

M = 7.1		 200 x

106 m3		 Village of Bairaman

destroyed by debris

flow from breached l

andslide dam; evacuation prevented casualties;

huge effect on local

landscape		 Debris avalanche

formed 210-m-high

dam that impounded

50-million m3 lake;

dam failed, causing

100m-deep debris

flow-flood downstream.
1987 Ecuador

(Napo)		 Reventador

landslides34,35		 Reventador

earthquakes

M = 6.1 and 6.9		 75-110 x

106  m3		 1,000 killed; many kms

of trans-Ecuadorian

oil pipeline and

highway destroyed;

total losses: US$ 1 billion (1987 $)		 Land sliding mainly

in saturated, residual

soils on steep slopes;

thousands of thin

slides remobilized

into debris flows

in tributary and

main drainages.
1994 Colombia

(Cauca)		 Paez

landslides23,35		 Paez

earthquake,

M = 6.4		 250 km2 Several villages partially

destroyed by landslides;

271 dead; 1,700 missing;

158 injured; 12,000

displaced.		 Thousands of thin,

residual-soil slides

on steep slopes

turned into

damaging debris

flows in tributary

and main

drainages.
1998 Honduras,

Guatemala,

Nicaragua,

El Salvador		 Hurricane

MitchM1,M2,M3

flooding
  • Landslides
  • debris-flows
 Hurricane

Mitch		   Approximately 10,000

people killed in the

flooding and landslides,

which occurred

throughout the region.

Casitas volcano in

Nicaragua experienced

large debris flows.

Impossible to

differentiate deaths

from landslides from

deaths due to flooding.		 180-mile per

hour winds

affected Honduras primarily.

Torrential rains occurred,

at the rate of 4 inches per

hour. Large landslides in Tegucigalpa

and elsewhere.

 

Source for Table

(Modified from) Schuster, R.L., 1996. The 25 most catastrophic landslides of the 20th century, in Chacon, Irigaray and Fernandez (eds.), Landslides, Proc. Of the 8th International Conf. & Field Trip on Landslides, Granada, Spain, 27-28 Sept. Rotterdam: Balkema.

*References for Table

  1. Advisory Committee on the International Decade for Natural Hazard Reduction 1987. Confronting natural disasters—an International Decade for Natural Hazard Reduction. National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences, 60 p., Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
  2. Bates, R.L. and J.A. Jackson (eds.) 1987. Glossary of geology, 788 p., Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.
  3. Bolt, B.A., W.L. Horn, G.A. Macdonald and R.F. Scott, 1975. Geological Hazards, 328 p., New York: Springer-Verlag.
  4. Brand, E.W., 1984. Landslides in Southeast Asia: a state-of-the-art report. In Proceedings, 4th Int'l. Symposium on Landslides 1:17–59. Toronto: Canadian Geotechnical Society.
  5. Close, U., and McCormick, 1922. Where the mountains walked. National Geographic Magazine, 41:5:445-464.
  6. Cluff, L.S., 1971. Peru earthquake of May 31, 1970. Engineering Geology Observations. Seismological Society of America Bulletin, 61:3:511-521.
  7. Cruden, D.M. and D.J. Varnes, 1996. Landslide types and processes. Chapter 3 in A.K. Turner and R.L. Schuster (eds.), Landslides Investigation and Mitigation. Transportation Research Board Special Report 247:36-75. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
  8. Da Costa Nunes, A.J., A.M.M. Costa Couto e Fonseca and R.E. Hunt, 1979. Landslides of Brazil. Chapter 11 in B.Voight (ed.) Rockslides and Avalanches, 2, Engineering Sites, p. 419-446. New York: Elsevier.
  9. Feng, X. and A. Guo, 1985. Earthquake landslides in China. In proceedings, 4th International Conference and Field Workshop on Landslides, pp. 339-346. Tokyo: Japan Landslide society.
  10. Gasiev, E., 1984. Study of the Usoy landslide in Pamir. In Proceedings, 4th International Symposium on Landslides, 1:511-515. Toronto; Canadian Geotechnical Society.
  11. Hansen, W.R., 1965. Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964 at Anchorage, Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 542-A, 68 p., Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  12. Hendron, A.J., Jr., and F.D. Patton, 1985. The Vaiont slide: a geotechnical analysis based on new geologic observations of the failure surface. Waterways Experiment Station Technical Report, 1:104p. Vicksburg, Mississippi: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  13. Jaroff, L., 1977. Forecasting the earth s convulsions. In Nature/Science Annual, pp. 21-33. New York: Time-Life Books.
  14. Jones, F.O., 1973. Landslides in Rio de Janeiro and the Serra das Araras escarpment, Brazil. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 697, 42 p. Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office.
  15. Kaliser, B.N., 1983. Geologic hazards of 1983. Survey Notes, pp. 3-8, Salt Lake City: Utah Geological and Mineral Survey.
  16. Kiersch, G.A., 1964. Vaiont Reservoir disaster. Civil Engineering 4:3:32-39.
  17. King, J., 1987. The Bairaman Valley debris flow. In Proceedings, 5th International Conference and Field Workshop on Landslides, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1-12 August, pp. 27-235.
  18. King, J., I. Loveday, and R.L. Schuster, 1989. The 1985 Baraman landslide dam and resulting debris flow, Papua New Guinea. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 22:4:257-270.
  19. Kojan, K.L. and J.N. Hutchinson, 1978. Mayunmarca rockslide and debris flow, Peru. In B. Voight (ed.), Rockslides and Avalanches, 1, Natural Phenomena, pp. 316-361. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  20. Lee, K.L., and J.M. Duncan, 1975. Landslide of April 25, 1974 on the Mantaro River, Peru. Washington, D.C.: Committee on Natural Disasters, 72 p. National Academy of Sciences.
  21. Li, Tianchi, 1990. Landslide management in the mountain areas of China. ICIMOD Occasional Paper 15:50 p.
  22. Li, Tianchi, Schuster, R.L., and Wu Jishan, 1986. Landslide dams in southwestern China. In R.L. Schuster (ed.), Processes, Risk, and Mitigation, pp. 146-162. American Society of Civil Engineers Special Publication3.
  23. Martinez, J.M., Avila, G., Agudelo, A., Schuster, R.L., Casadevall, T.J., and K.M. Scott, 1995. Landslides and debris flows triggered by the 6 June 1994 Paez earthquake, southwestern Colombia. Landslide News, no. 9:13-15. Kyoto: Japan Landslide Society.
  24. McDowell, B., and J.E. Fletcher, 1962. Avalanche. National Geographic Magazine, 121:855-880.
  25. Mileti, D.S., Bolton, P.A., Fernandez, G., and R.G. Updike, 1991. The eruption of Nevado del Ruiz volcano, Colombia, South America, November 13, 1985. Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council, Natural Disaster Studies, 4:109 p., Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
  26. Ministry of Construction, 1983. Reference manual on erosion control works (in Japanese), 386 p. Japan: Erosion Control Department.
  27. Morales, B., 1966. The Huascaran avalanche in the Santa Valley, Peru. In Proceedings, International Symposium on Scientific Aspects of Snow and Ice Avalanches, 5-10 April 1965. Davos, Switzerland: International Association of Scientific Hydrology Publication No. 69: pp. 304-315.
  28. Muller, L., 1968. The rock slide in the Vaiont Valley. Rock Mechanics and Engineering Geology, 2:148-212.
  29. Nakano, T., Kadomura, H., Mizutani, T., Okuda, M., and T. Sekiguchi, 1974. Natural hazards report from Japan. In G.F. White (ed.), Natural Hazards Local, National, Global, 8:231-243, New York: Oxford University Press.
  30. Oyagi, N., 1989. Geological and economic extent of landslides in Japan and Korea. In E.E. Brabb and B.L. Harrod (eds.), Landslides Extent and Economic Significance, Proceedings of the 28th International Geolgoical Congress, Symposium on Landslides, 17 July, pp. 289-302. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
  31. Plafker, G., Ericksen, G.E., and J. Fernandez Concha, 1971. Geological aspects of the May 31, 1979 Peru earthquake. Seismological Society of America Bulletin, 61:3:543-578.
  32. Plafker, G. and G.E. Ericksen, 1978. Nevados Huascaran avalanches. Chapter 8 In B. Voight (ed.), Rockslides and Avalanches, 1, Natural Phenomena, pp. 277-314. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  33. Schuster, R.L., 1983. Engineering aspects of the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruptions. Bulletin of the Association of Engineering Geologists, 20:2:125-143.
  34. Schuster, R.L., (ed.)1991. The March 5, 1987, Ecuador earthquakes–mass wasting and economic effects. Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences, Natural Disaster Studies 5:163 p. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
  35. Schuster, R.L., 1995. Landslides and floods triggered by the June 6, 1994, Paez earthquake, southwestern Colombia. Association of Engineering Geologists, AEG News 38:1:32-33.
  36. Schuster, R.L., Nieto, A.S., O'Rourke, T.D., Crespo, E., and G. Plaza-Nieto, 1995. Mass wasting triggered by the 5 March 1987 Ecuador earthquakes. Engineering Geology. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  37. United States Department of Commerce, 1995. Statistical abstract of the United States—the national data book. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1,045 p.
  38. University of Utah, 1984. Flooding and landslides in Utah—an economic impact analysis. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Res., Utah Department of Community and Economic Development, and Utah Office of Planning and Budget, 123 p.
  39. Van Bemmelen, R.W., 1970. The geology of Indonesia, Vol. 1A, general geology of Indonesia and adjacent archipelagoes, 732 p., The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
  40. Varnes, D.J., 1981. Slope-stability problems of the Circum-Pacific region as related to mineral and energy resources. In M.T. Halbouty (ed.), Energy Resources of the Pacific Region. American Association Petroleum Geologists Studies in Geology, 12:489-505.
  41. Voight, B., 1990. The Nevado del Ruiz volcano catastrophe; anatomy and retrospection. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Resources, 44:349-386.
  42. Voight, B., Janda, R.J., Glicken, H., and P.M. Douglass, 1983. Nature and mechanisms of the Mount St. Helens rockslide avalanche of 18 May 1980. Geotechnique, 33:3:243-273.
  43. Wang, G., and B. Xu, 1984. Brief introduction of landslides in loess in China. In Proceedings, 4th International Symposium on Landslides, 16-21 September, 2:197-207. Toronto: Canadian Geotechnical Society.
  44. Wesson, C.V.X., and R.L. Wesson, 1975. Odyssey to Tadzhik—an American family joins a Soviet seismological expedition. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Information Bulletin, 7:1:8-16.
  45. Yesenov, Y.,E., and A.S. Degovets, 1982. Protection of the city of Alma-Ata from mud-rock flows. In A.I. Sheko (ed.). Landslides and Mudflows—Reports of the Alma-Ata International Seminar, October, pp. 454-465. Moscow: Centre of International Projects, GKNT.
  46. Youd, T.L., 1978. Major cause of earthquake damage is ground failure. Civil Engineering, 48:4:47-51.
  47. Zen, M.T., and D. Hadikusumo, 1965. The future danger of Mt. Kelut (eastern Java-Indonesia). Bulletin Volcanologique, ser. 2:28:275-282.

Publications for Hurricane Mitch

  1. Crone, Anthony J., Rex L. Baum, David J. Lidke, Damon N.D. Sather, Lee-Ann Bradley and Arthur C. Tarr, 2001. Landslides Induced by Hurricane Mitch in El Salvador—An Inventory and Descriptions of Selected Features, U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report 01-0444.
  2. Bucknam, Robert C., Jeffrey A. Coe, Manuel Mota Chavarria, Jonathan W. Godt, Arthur C. Tarr, Lee-Ann Bradley, Sharon Rafferty, Dean Hancock, Richard L. Dart, and Margo L. Johnson, 2001. Landslides Triggered by Hurricane Mitch in Guatemala—Inventory and Discussion, U.S. Geological Survey Open-file report 01-0443.
  3. Cannon, Susan H., Kathleen M. Haller, Ingrid Ekstrom, Eugene S. Schweig III, Graziella Devoli, David W. Moore, Sharon A. Rafferty, and Arthur C. Tarr, 2001. Landslide Response to Hurricane Mitch Rainfall in Seven Study Areas in Nicaragua, U.S. Geological Survey Open-file report 01-0412A.