Preparing Collaboratively for Landslides and Tsunamis
May 8, 2026
A landslide in southeast Alaska last year triggered “one of the highest-reaching tsunamis ever recorded,” the Alaska Beacon reports. Although it caused no major damage, researchers noted that “with climate change making similar events more likely,” the event “highlights the growing risk from landslides and tsunamis in coastal environments.” In one effort to prepare, Lisa Busch and colleagues describe in Issues how a diverse group of scientists, in collaboration with the Alaskan coastal community of Sitka, created a unique landslide and tsunami warning system tailored to local needs that integrates cutting-edge research from both the physical and social sciences.