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Landslide

Hazard in Geological and Other Natural Hazards

A slope-failure hazard, from a hillside letting go after rain to a boulder on a highway cut, that buries roads and homes and can sever access for weeks.

Includes: Landslide, Rockfall

  • Landslide. A slope-failure hazard triggered by rain, snowmelt or quakes that buries roads and homes and can sever access for weeks.
  • Rockfall. A localized, sudden hazard on steep cuts and cliffs that threatens roadways, rail lines and the people traveling them.
See a sample briefBook a walkthroughAll 31 hazards →

Sample brief

The first page of a Landslide brief: likelihood, impact and readiness on your own scale, with each figure sourced.

Evidence brief for Cedar Ridge County (example)

September 14, 2026

Landslide

Hazard in Geological and Other Natural Hazards, on the established threats & hazards list

Impact
5432112345

Likelihood

Likelihood
3

Possible — Expected occasionally — roughly once in 10 to 50 years (2–10% chance in any year).

Impact
3

Moderate — Notable effects — injuries possible, damage in multiple areas, essential services disrupted for days.

Readiness
4

High — The organization has a well-developed capability to manage this threat or hazard. Plans, personnel, resources, and skills are largely in place, and the capability has been meaningfully tested or demonstrated. Remaining gaps are unlikely to significantly impair performance.

  • 2source documents
  • 58verified mentions
  • 2federal declarations
  • 91.6NRI score, relatively high
Worked example: Cedar Ridge County is fictional. The scores illustrate the format and are nobody's decision. Open a full sample brief →

The national record

FEMA National Risk Index: Landslide

$544M
expected loss a year, nationally
68
counties rated high or very high

Your county’s own rating is the first thing we pull.

How it maps

The same hazard in the vocabularies your plan and FEMA already use.

FEMA National Risk Index
Landslide (LNDS)one of the 18 hazards NRI scores per county
FEMA declaration incident type
Mud/Landslide13 declarations on record
NOAA Storm Events type
Debris Flow
Hazzard category
Geological and Other Natural Hazards, natural hazardsincludes Landslide, Rockfall

The national record

What the federal data says about Landslide

The same national sources a Hazzard brief starts from. For your jurisdiction we narrow each one to your county and its neighbors.

Where Landslide is rated high

Share of each state's counties FEMA rates Relatively High or Very High

Alabama: 0 of 67 counties rated high (0%) · $566K expected loss a yearAlaska: 4 of 30 counties rated high (13%) · $12M expected loss a yearArizona: 0 of 15 counties rated high (0%) · $475K expected loss a yearArkansas: 0 of 75 counties rated high (0%) · $433K expected loss a yearCalifornia: 29 of 58 counties rated high (50%) · $130M expected loss a yearColorado: 5 of 64 counties rated high (8%) · $11M expected loss a yearConnecticut: 0 of 9 counties rated high (0%) · $204K expected loss a yearDelaware: 0 of 3 counties rated high (0%) · $13K expected loss a yearDistrict of Columbia: 0 of 1 counties rated high (0%) · $17K expected loss a yearFlorida: 0 of 67 counties rated high (0%) · $54K expected loss a yearGeorgia: 0 of 159 counties rated high (0%) · $768K expected loss a yearHawaii: 1 of 5 counties rated high (20%) · $4M expected loss a yearIdaho: 3 of 44 counties rated high (7%) · $4M expected loss a yearIllinois: 0 of 102 counties rated high (0%) · $832K expected loss a yearIndiana: 0 of 92 counties rated high (0%) · $560K expected loss a yearIowa: 0 of 99 counties rated high (0%) · $807K expected loss a yearKansas: 0 of 105 counties rated high (0%) · $162K expected loss a yearKentucky: 1 of 120 counties rated high (1%) · $2M expected loss a yearLouisiana: 0 of 64 counties rated high (0%) · $27K expected loss a yearMaine: 0 of 16 counties rated high (0%) · $141K expected loss a yearMaryland: 0 of 24 counties rated high (0%) · $230K expected loss a yearMassachusetts: 0 of 14 counties rated high (0%) · $191K expected loss a yearMichigan: 0 of 83 counties rated high (0%) · $263K expected loss a yearMinnesota: 1 of 87 counties rated high (1%) · $1M expected loss a yearMississippi: 1 of 82 counties rated high (1%) · $1M expected loss a yearMissouri: 0 of 115 counties rated high (0%) · $2M expected loss a yearMontana: 1 of 56 counties rated high (2%) · $3M expected loss a yearNebraska: 0 of 93 counties rated high (0%) · $118K expected loss a yearNevada: 0 of 17 counties rated high (0%) · $162K expected loss a yearNew Hampshire: 0 of 10 counties rated high (0%) · $695K expected loss a yearNew Jersey: 0 of 21 counties rated high (0%) · $117K expected loss a yearNew Mexico: 0 of 33 counties rated high (0%) · $417K expected loss a yearNew York: 1 of 62 counties rated high (2%) · $1M expected loss a yearNorth Carolina: 5 of 100 counties rated high (5%) · $9M expected loss a yearNorth Dakota: 0 of 53 counties rated high (0%) · $43K expected loss a yearOhio: 0 of 88 counties rated high (0%) · $1M expected loss a yearOklahoma: 0 of 77 counties rated high (0%) · $278K expected loss a yearOregon: 0 of 36 counties rated high (0%) · $2M expected loss a yearPennsylvania: 1 of 67 counties rated high (1%) · $2M expected loss a yearRhode Island: 0 of 5 counties rated high (0%) · $10K expected loss a yearSouth Carolina: 0 of 46 counties rated high (0%) · $148K expected loss a yearSouth Dakota: 0 of 66 counties rated high (0%) · $66K expected loss a yearTennessee: 2 of 95 counties rated high (2%) · $5M expected loss a yearTexas: 0 of 254 counties rated high (0%) · $197K expected loss a yearUtah: 2 of 29 counties rated high (7%) · $3M expected loss a yearVermont: 0 of 14 counties rated high (0%) · $615K expected loss a yearVirginia: 0 of 133 counties rated high (0%) · $2M expected loss a yearWashington: 8 of 39 counties rated high (21%) · $40M expected loss a yearWest Virginia: 1 of 55 counties rated high (2%) · $3M expected loss a yearWisconsin: 1 of 72 counties rated high (1%) · $2M expected loss a yearWyoming: 1 of 23 counties rated high (4%) · $2M expected loss a year
  • None
  • Up to 10%
  • 10–25%
  • 25–50%
  • Over 50%
  • Not rated
FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, county table

13 federal declarations since 1973

Declarations FEMA filed as “Mud/Landslide”, by year (2026 to date)

0241973: 1 declaration1998: 1 declaration2013: 1 declaration2014: 2 declarations2016: 1 declaration2018: 1 declaration2021: 1 declaration2022: 1 declaration2023: 1 declaration2024: 3 declarations2024: 319801990200020102020
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, as of 2026-09-27. Counts distinct disasters; major, emergency and fire-management declarations.

In your plan

What a Landslide profile needs, and where each part comes from

A local hazard mitigation plan profiles each hazard the same way (44 CFR 201.6). Here is how Hazzard fills each part for Landslide.

  1. Location

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    FEMA's National Risk Index rates Landslide for every county. We place yours against its neighbors and the state, then add what your plans map in more detail.

  2. Extent

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your documents

    The magnitude your plans use for Landslide (a scale, a depth, an acreage, a duration), read from your documents and cited, so the profile states the strength you plan for.

  3. Previous occurrences

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    Every FEMA declaration filed as Mud/Landslide that included your county, back to 1953, alongside the events your own records and after-action reports describe.

  4. Probability of future events

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    NRI's annualized frequency for your county, and the declaration history, drafted into a likelihood on your own scale for your team to accept or change.

  5. Vulnerability and impacts

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(ii)

    National data

    NRI's expected annual loss and social vulnerability for your county, the Census population profile and HHS emPOWER counts, with the impacts your plans already describe.

  6. The assessment itself

    Your team decides

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Landslide are drafted with every source attached, and a person on your team accepts each one. Hazzard never records a score on its own.

How we can help

How we’d help you prepare for Landslide

  1. 1

    We pull the federal data

    NRI ratings where FEMA models Landslide, any declarations and NOAA's precipitation record for drought. Where nothing models it, we say so.

  2. 2

    We read your plans and studies

    Your mitigation plan and any geologic or drought studies, so your own evidence is cited next to the federal figures.

  3. 3

    You leave with a cited brief

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Landslide on your own scale, with each figure tied to its source. It is ready for your planning team or council.

Also in Geological and Other Natural Hazards

Preparing for Landslide

Give Landslide a full profile, even if it rarely makes the news.

Slow and rare hazards are the ones plans skim. We show what FEMA and NOAA data say about yours, and where your plan has to rely on local knowledge. We reply within one business day.

Book a walkthrough

Takes about two minutes. A person reads each request.

Or start by marking your area on the map