Landslides cause fatalities and property damage throughout the Nation. To reduce the impact from hazardous landslides, the U.S. Geological Survey develops and uses real-time and near-real-time landslide monitoring systems. Monitoring can detect when hillslopes are primed for sliding and can provide early indications of rapid, catastrophic movement. Continuous information from up-to-the-minute or real-time monitoring provides prompt notification of landslide activity, advances our understanding of landslide behavior, and enables more effective engineering and planning efforts.

First posted February 16, 2012