Monetary losses from landslides come from the destruction of infrastructure, homes and businesses; loss of life; disruption of transportation routes; disruption and contamination of water supplies; and the difficulty of both removing and stabilizing landslide material. Even a small landslide that damages a few homes can cost millions of dollars. Losses from landslides in the United States were estimated in 1980 to exceed $1 billion per year. More recently, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated annual losses to be between $2 billion and $4 billion per year. However, landslide costs across the country are not currently tracked or measured in a uniform way by any one agency, so this figure is likely to be an underestimate.

Learn More:

• Landslides 101 (Webpage), U.S. Geological Survey
  Basic information on landslides, where they occur, and why they are important.
   
• Estimating the costs of landslide damage in the United States (Report), U.S. Geological Survey
  This 1980 report provides the most recent formal estimate of landslide damages in the United States.
   
• Landslide Loss Reduction: A Guide for State and Local Government Planning (Guidebook), Federal Emergency Management Agency
  A practical, politically feasible guide for State and local officials involved in landslide hazard mitigation

• Identifying and Reducing Landslide Risk (Webinar) American Geosciences Institute
  2019 webinar providing an overview of landslide risk assessment, mapping, and impacts in the United States, and featuring case studies of work done in and with communities to reduce landslide risk.