A massive rock and ice avalanche caused the 2021 disaster at Chamoli, Indian Himalaya.

On 7 February 2021, a catastrophic mass flow descended the Ronti Gad, Rishiganga, and Dhauliganga valleys in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India, causing widespread devastation and severely damaging two hydropower projects. More than 200 people were killed or are missing. Our analysis of satellite imagery, seismic records, numerical model results, and eyewitness videos reveals that ~27 × 10 cubic meters of rock and glacier ice collapsed from the steep north face of Ronti Peak.

Combining release and runout in statistical landslide susceptibility modeling.

We introduce and compare two approaches to consistently combine release and runout in GIS-based landslide susceptibility modeling. The computational experiments are conducted on data from the Schnepfau investigation area in western Austria, which include a high-quality landslide inventory and a landslide release susceptibility map. The two proposed methods use a constrained random walk approach for downslope routing of mass points and employ the probability density function (PDF) and the cumulative density function (CDF) of the angles of reach and the travel distances of the observed landslides.

Comparative analysis of statistical methods for landslide susceptibility mapping in the Bostanlik District, Uzbekistan.

The Bostanlik district, Uzbekistan, is characterized by mountainous terrain susceptible to landslides. The present study aims at creating a statistically derived landslide susceptibility map - the first of its type for Uzbekistan - for part of the area in order to inform risk management. Statistical index (SI), frequency ratio (FR) and certainty factor (CF) are employed and compared for this purpose.

Analysis of lateral sediment connectivity and its connection to debris flow intensity patterns at different return periods in the Fella River system in northeastern Italy.

A wide variety of issues are now being addressed using the concept of connectivity, which has initiated the development of various methods to assess a river's relationship to its catchment. This study tests two well-established methods, the Effective Catchment Area (ECA) and the Index of Connectivity (IC) in the study area of the Fella River in northeastern Italy, to gain an idea of their potentials, limitations and ability to represent connectivity patterns observable in the field. The results show that both methods provide largely agreeing outputs, which widely match field observations.

How well can we simulate complex hydro-geomorphic process chains? The 2012 multi-lake outburst flood in the Santa Cruz Valley (Cordillera Blanca, Perú).

Changing high-mountain environments are characterized by destabilizing ice, rock or debris slopes connected to evolving glacial lakes. Such configurations may lead to potentially devastating sequences of mass movements (process chains or cascades). Computer simulations are supposed to assist in anticipating the possible consequences of such phenomena in order to reduce the losses.