At left, the words “The Landslide Blog” appear in white over a tan background that gradually becomes transparent to the right, revealing a sheer cliff face with rubble below it.

The deeply intriguing 1 September 2022 Huzhu landslide in Qinghai Province, China

The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. Back in 2022, I wrote (on the old site) about a landslide that occurred on 1 September that year, a failure that is now known as the Huzhu landslide, in Qinghai Province, China. This landslide is the subject of a paper (Chen et al. 2025) in the journal Engineering Geology, which examines the failure mechanisms in loess that may have contributed to the event. There is also now fantastic Google Earth imagery of the site, which is…

Landslides from the Mw=7.3 17 December 2024 Port Vila Earthquake in Vanuatu

The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. It has been widely reported that an M=7.3 earthquake struck Vanuatu on 17 December 2024 at 12:47 local time. Wikipedia is referring to this as the Port Vila Earthquake as the epicentre was located offshore of this city. At the time of writing, there were 14 confirmed fatalities and 200 injuries, although the picture remains unclear. The island mostly affected by the earthquake – Efate – has some steep slopes (the highest peak extends to c.650 metres),…

The 22 January 2024 Liangshui landslide in the Wumeng Mountain Area of China

The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. On 22 January 2024, the Liangshui landslide struck the Wumeng Mountain area of China, killing 44 people. I blogged about this significant event at the time, including the following Youtube video that provides drone footage of the aftermath of the landslide:- A first analysis of this failure (Wang et al. 2024) has just been published in the journal Landslides. The landslide is located at [27.48078, 105.01231], striking Liangshui Village, which is located in Zhenxiong County in Yunnan…

The 7 December 2024 mine waste landslide at Turmalina Mine in Brazil

The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. On 7 December 2024 a major landslide occurred in a mine waste pile at the Turmalina Mine in Brazil. The operator, Jaguar Mining, has put out a press release that provides a…

Future increases in landslide hazard across the high mountains of Asia

The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. In terms of human losses, the mountains of Asia remain the global hotspot for landslides. Whilst earthquake-induced landslides cause occasional, very high levels of loss (e.g. the 2005 Kashmir Earthquake and the…

The 8 December 2024 landslide at Arhavi in Turkey

The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. On 8 December 2024, a very large landslide occurred at Arhavi in the Artvin area of Turkey, killing four people in a car that was travelling along the coastal highway. Tolga Gorum…

Fatal landslides in November 2024

The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. I have now compiled the initial data for the fatal landslides that occurred globally in 2024. As ever with these update posts, this is subject to review, but it provides an initial…

A new coal waste landslide at Cwmtillery in South Wales

The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides. In Wales, Storm Bert brought extremely heavy rainfall over the weekend, triggering extensive flooding and a number of landslides. The most serious failure appears to have occurred at Cwmtillery in Blaenau Gwent,…

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About Dave

Dave Petley is pictured from midchest up, with a building with tall paned windows in the background.

Dave Petley is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. His blog provides commentary and analysis of landslide events occurring worldwide, including the landslides themselves, latest research, and conferences and meetings.

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Ideas and opinions expressed on this blog do not represent the views of AGU, Eos, or any of their affiliates. They are solely the opinion of the author.