The March 2014 landslide in Oso, Washington, a month ago today, called attention to the lack of a national system to monitor landslide data. The U.S. government prepares hazard maps for other types of natural disasters like earthquakes and floods, but not for landslides. Even though they cause up to 2 billion dollars a year in damages nationwide, most data is collected at state level. NASA’s Global Landslide Catalog (GLC), which collects data from media reports and disaster databases, is the first attempt to survey rainfall-triggered landslides.

With western Washington's heavy annual winter rains, landslides are relatively common along the region's steep hillsides. Few have been as deadly as the March landslide in Oso, yet the risk to people is increasing