Killer landslides: the lasting legacy of Nepal's quake
A year after a devastating earthquake triggered killer avalanches and rock falls in Nepal, scientists are wiring up mountainsides to forecast hazards.
What are the safe places to rebuild, in a landscape that is evolving?
To answer that, geoscientists are wiring up the mountains in Nepal and other seismically active countries. By monitoring how hillsides evolve, researchers are learning why strong shaking weakens a slope and makes it more prone to give way during aftershocks or rainstorms. The lessons from such studies could help to pinpoint when and where the side of a mountain will collapse.