I am currently putting together a keynote paper for the forthcoming International Conference on Slopes, which is being held in Malaysia in November. I have been looking at the occurrence of fatal landslides in Asia, using the Durham Landslide Database as the source of data. I have plotted the number of fatal landslides by month for 2002-2007 for three areas – South Asia (i.e. the Indian subcontinent), East Asia (which …

Understanding what a landslide is actually like is rather difficult when you can only see the deposit and the scar. Now, all landslides are of course different, but in the case of Sichuan we are dealing with some of the most rapid and dangerous ones. So, I thought it would be constructive to post the following Youtube video, which was taken in Malaysia in 1993. Click on it to view …

Update: Mark Drechsler has provided some images of the Kaiapit landslide, which are now integrated into the text below. Thanks to Mark for this – it is much appreciated. All images copyright of Mark Drechsler. In addition, I have placed a copy of the Drechsler et al (1989) paper on the International Landslide Centre website here. It provides a fascinating level of detail about the slide. I recommend this paper …

Over the last thirty years or so there have been a series of nasty landslides under apartment blocks on the edge of cities. Examples that spring to mind include: 1972: Po Shan Road, Hong Kong – 67 fataltities1993: Highland Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 48 fatalties1997: Lincoln Mansions, Hsichih, Taiwan: 28 fataltites On 26th March 2008 there was an interesting landslide in the picturesque town of Alesund in Norway, once again …

Reported fatal landslides during the last few days include: Malaysia: a landslide in Kampung on 26th December killed four members of a single family Colombia: a landslide on 26th Decemner in Tolima killed three people.

Reported landslides during the last few days: India: A landslide killed two soldiers in Ladakh on 15th December. Six people were injured. No trigger has been reported. Malaysia: As is common at this time of year, Johor in southern Malaysia is suffering from prolonged heavy rainfall. A number of landslides have been reported, most notably blocking roads. USA: there is an article here about an unfortunate home-owner who has had …