A landslide is a mass-movement phenomenon in which soil, rock, regolith, or debris moves downslope under the influence of gravity, often along a discrete shear surface or failure plane. It encompasses diverse mechanisms such as rotational and translational slides, debris flows, rockfalls, and avalanches, typically initiated when driving forces exceed resisting forces due to factors like pore-water pressure increase, seismic shaking, weathering, or anthropogenic slope modification. Landslides are characterized by rapid to extremely rapid kinematics, spatial heterogeneity of displacement, and strong dependence on lithology, structural discontinuities, hydrological conditions, and topography, and are central to geomorphological evolution and natural hazard assessment.
Permits revoked, lawsuits filed, the threat of state takeovers. Deadly flooding in Indonesia has prompted unprecedented government action against companies accused of environmental destruction that worsened the disaster.
Environment
Feb 19, 2026
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While most of the world's glaciers are retreating as the climate warms, a small but significant population behaves very differently—and the consequences can be severe. A team of international scientists, led by the University ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 12, 2026
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In terms of area, forest is the most important means of avalanche protection. It is also the most cost-effective and is naturally renewable. This insight hit home after the winter of 1951, when over 1,000 avalanches caused ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 9, 2026
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In recent years, numerous landslides on hillsides in urban and rural areas have underscored that understanding and predicting these phenomena is more than an academic curiosity—it is a human necessity. When unstable slopes ...
In the days since last week's fatal landslides at Mount Maunganui, there has been widespread discussion about what may have caused the slopes above the campground to fail, including the possible role of recent tree removal ...
Environment
Jan 28, 2026
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California marked a milestone this month with the return of an uninterrupted Highway 1 through the perilous yet spectacular cliffs of Big Sur. The famed coastal road had been closed for more than three years after two major ...
Environment
Jan 28, 2026
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A relatively simple statistical analysis method can more accurately predict the risk of landslides caused by heavy rain, according to a study coordinated by Brazilian researchers affiliated with the Institute of Mathematical ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 28, 2026
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Gaetano Ferrera had just a few minutes to grab belongings from his home, one of hundreds evacuated after a landslide in Sicily that experts warn could worsen due to heavy rainfall.
Environment
Jan 28, 2026
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The tragic events in the Bay of Plenty this week are a stark reminder that landslides remain the deadliest of the many natural hazards New Zealand faces. A large landslide swept through the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday ...
Environment
Jan 25, 2026
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Marine turbidites are layers of mud and sand deposited on the deep ocean floor by massive underwater landslides and are often used as a historical record for reconstructing earthquake histories.
