Kentucky Geological Survey Landslides and Engineering Geology Team monitors landslides in the Commonwealth with an eye towards developing a weather-driven landslide forecasting model
Landslides have a significant impact on Kentucky, causing an estimated $10 to $20 million in damage annually and affecting roads, infrastructure, buildings, property, and private residences. In order to expand our research and get that information to interested stakeholders, the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) Landslide and Engineering Geology Team (1) supports state and local officials' responses to landslides, (2) learns from landslide events to inform landslide investigations and improve mitigation efforts, (3) evaluates hazard and reduces landslide risk, and (4) monitors and assesses slope response to a changing climate, working towards developing a weather-driven landslide forecasting model for the Commonwealth.
On August 2 (Fig. 1). The debris flow travelled approximately 0.5 km (~2000 ft) and deposited a mass of sediment and debris along US 119, including large boulders, causing the road to close for several days. KGS landslide researchers visited the site on March 3, 2025, to evaluate the debris flow and speak with the landowner about the landslide activity. According to Matt Crawford, when landslide site visits are requested, "we want to respond so that the public gets the information they need about what happened, and we as researchers improve our understanding on what caused the slope failure." On-site data collection supports accurate reporting and long-term mitigation planning. Crawford adds, "our ultimate goal is to work with state, local, and federal entities to reduce landslide risks." Requests for landslide visits may come from individual property owners, county emergency managers, businesses, schools, land trusts, national forest managers, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, and other state and local officials.
Similarly, on April 9, 2025, Powell County Emergency Management requested that the KGS team visit the sites of two landslides in Powell County; one significantly damaged a home, and the other threatened a business (Fig. 2). For both landslides, KGS was able to provide Powell County Emergency Management with the information needed to make the best decisions for the property owners and take steps toward mitigation.
The team also participated in reconnaissance landslide mapping efforts after the July 2022 flood event in eastern Kentucky (see: Reconnaissance of Landslides and Debris Flows Associated with the July 2022 Flooding in Eastern Kentucky) and in the neighboring state of North Carolina, where they helped the U.S. Geological Survey map thousands of landslides resulting from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 (see: Hurricane Helene Landslide Hazards). Both efforts inform the context of historical storm-driven landslide events and open opportunities to investigate the nature and extent of future events.
Extreme weather events and landslide hazards are part of the $24 million National Science Foundation EPSCoR award "Climate Resilience through Multidisciplinary Big Data Learning, Prediction, and Building Response Systems" (CLIMBS). This award aims to build capacity to assess natural hazards, climate science, geoinformatics, and engineering solutions for communities across Kentucky. As part of CLIMBS, the KGS Landslide and Engineering Geology Team, in conjunction with the UK Department of Civil Engineering, is examining hillslope response to climate by monitoring the hydrology of landslide-prone slopes over time, evaluating potential impacts to landslide activity in response to a changing climate, and working towards developing a weather-driven landslide forecasting model. The KGS CLIMBS participants, which include Matt Crawford, Sarah Johnson, and new hire Ryan Ramsey, are establishing a monitoring network of 24 stations across 8 counties in eastern Kentucky (Fig. 3). Each station is placed on a slope susceptible to landslides and measures soil moisture, water potential, and rainfall and other weather conditions every 15 minutes over the course of 5 years. The slopes surrounding each station will be regularly surveyed for landslide activity using unmanned aerial vehicle-based and handheld lidar systems that produce high-resolution images of the ground surface, capturing any changes that occur over time. As of April 2025, 10 monitoring stations have been installed, with invaluable field assistance from KGS employees Hudson Koch, Evelyn Bibbins, Madison High, Andrew Hawksley, and Desireé Cunningham.
Through landslide research, site response, site evaluation, slope monitoring, and other landslide efforts, KGS helps stakeholders in need of landslide hazard information. Continued project and stakeholder support for the KGS Landslide Hazards Program allows KGS to better prepare the Commonwealth for landslide hazards and reduce risk.