Articles | Volume 25, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1037-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1037-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
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10 Mar 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 10 Mar 2025
| 10 Mar 2025
Characterizing the scale of regional landslide triggering from storm hydrometeorology
US Geological Survey, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Nina S. Oakley
Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, CA 92037, USA
California Geological Survey, Santa Rosa, CA 95405, USA
Brian D. Collins
US Geological Survey, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Skye C. Corbett
US Geological Survey, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
W. Paul Burgess
California Geological Survey, Los Angeles, CA 90013, USA
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Landslide runout zones are the areas downslope or downstream of landslide initiation. People often live and work in these areas, leading to property damage and deaths. Landslide runout may occur on hillslopes or in channels, requiring different modeling approaches. We develop methods to identify potential runout zones and apply these methods to identify susceptible areas for three municipalities in Puerto Rico.
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Landslide runout zones are the areas downslope or downstream of landslide initiation. People often live and work in these areas, leading to property damage and deaths. Landslide runout may occur on hillslopes or in channels, requiring different modeling approaches. We develop methods to identify potential runout zones and apply these methods to identify susceptible areas for three municipalities in Puerto Rico.
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Fire can dramatically increase the risk of debris flows to downstream communities with little warning, but hazard assessments have not traditionally included estimates of inundation. We unify models developed by the scientific community to create probabilistic estimates of inundation area in response to rainfall at forecast lead times (≥ 24 h) needed for decision-making. This work takes an initial step toward a near-real-time postfire debris-flow inundation hazard assessment product.
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Editorial statement
This paper presents a method for characterizing regional landslide potential, which the authors suggest as an improved basis for landslide hazard forecasting during storms. It discusses the advantage of using considering the relative soil-saturation rather than a rainfall recurrence interval to understand landsliding triggered by rainfall, focusing on data from California.
This paper presents a method for characterizing regional landslide potential, which the authors...
Short summary
Rainfall-induced landslides result in deaths and economic losses annually across the globe. However, it is unclear how storm severity relates to landslide severity across large regions. Here we develop a method to dynamically map landslide-affected areas, and we compare this to meteorological estimates of storm severity. We find that preconditioning by earlier storms and the location of rainfall bursts, rather than atmospheric storm strength, dictate landslide magnitude and pattern.
Rainfall-induced landslides result in deaths and economic losses annually across the globe....
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