Fact Sheet 2006–3017
IntroductionEvery year, natural hazards cause thousands of deaths and injuries and billions of dollars of property damage in the United States. Precipitation from hurricanes causes widespread regional flooding; ground shaking from earthquakes can topple buildings and bridges; floods can displace hundreds to thousands of people, ruin crops and disrupt transportation and commerce; and wildfires can destroy whole communities and leave steep mountainous areas susceptible to landslides and debris flows. Any of these hazards can have a devastating effect on individual lives and livelihoods, and local, State, Federal, and global economies. The USGS is presently developing a Natural Hazards Initiative called Reducing America’s Risks. While natural hazards are inevitable occurrences, the goal of this initiative is to limit losses of life and property. The research activities supported by the initiative can be broadly characterized in three areas: (1) activities related to prediction and assessment of natural hazards; (2) activities that support response to natural hazard events; and (3) activities that support recovery efforts after events. Researchers at the Mid-Continent Geographic Science Center in Rolla, Missouri have focused their attention on understanding the processes, predicting the occurrence, and mitigating the consequences of landslides. |
First posted March 2006 Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge. |
U.S. Geological Survey, 2006, Mid-Continent Geographic Science Center Natural Hazards Research — Landslides: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2006–3017, 1 p., available only online at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3017/.