Landslide Hazards
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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.
Woodbury Fire Debris Flows
On September 23, 2019 a storm near Superior, Arizona over the Woodbury Fire burn area (June 8, 2019) triggered multiple debris flows. Five significant ones are summarized in this geonarrative.
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Emergency Assessment of Post-Fire Debris-Flow Hazards
Earthquake-Triggered Ground-Failure Inventories
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Post-Wildfire Debris Flow Awareness
Post-wildfire hazards in Colorado can be as dangerous as the fires themselves.
Natural Hazards Newsletter - Inaugural Issue - Vol. 1 | Issue 2021-Winter
We introduce the USGS Natural Hazards newsletter. In this issue: A new geonarrative about the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake, Potential landslide in Alaska, Subduction Zone Science, Post-wildfire debris flow assessments, new @USGS_Quakes Twitter account, Mapping faults in Puerto Rico, Coastal Change Top Story, Photo Round Up and more!
National Preparedness Month 2020: Landslides and Sinkholes
Natural hazards have the potential to impact a majority of Americans every year. USGS science provides part of the foundation for emergency preparedness whenever and wherever disaster strikes.
Publications
Modeling hydrologic processes associated with soil saturation and debris flow initiation during the September 2013 storm, Colorado Front Range
Seven days of extreme rainfall during September 2013 produced more than 1100 debris flows in the Colorado Front Range, about 78% of which occurred on south-facing slopes (SFS). Previously published soil moisture (volumetric water content) observations suggest that SFS were wetter than north-facing slopes (NFS) during the event, which contrasts...
Timilsina, Sujana; Niemann, Jeffrey D.; Rathburn, Sara L.; Rengers, Francis K.; Nelson, Peter A. Rapid sensitivity analysis for reducing uncertainty in landslide hazard assessments
One of the challenges in assessing temporal and spatial aspects of landslide hazard using process-based models is estimating model input parameters, especially in areas where limited measurements of soil and rock properties are available. In an effort to simplify and streamline parameter estimation, development of a simple, rapid approach to...
Baum, Rex L. Detection and assessment of a large and potentially‐tsunamigenic periglacial landslide in Barry Arm, Alaska
The retreat of glaciers in response to global warming has the potential to trigger landslides in glaciated regions around the globe. Landslides that enter fjords or lakes can cause tsunamis, which endanger people and infrastructure far from the landslide itself. Here we document the ongoing movement of an unstable slope (total volume of 455...
Dai, Chunli; Higman, Bretwood; Lynett, Patrick J.; Jacquemart, Mylène; Howat, Ian; Liljedahl, Anna K.; Dufresne, Anja; Freymueller, Jeffery T.; Geertsema, Marten; Jones, Melissa Ward; Haeussler, Peter