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[NASA] Cyclone Rains Spur Papua New Guinea Landslides


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Earth Observatory
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  3. Cyclone Rains Spur Papua New…
 


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Sept. 24, 2025
April 20, 2026

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NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

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NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison
Sept. 24, 2025April 20, 2026

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NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison
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NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

Sept. 24, 2025

April 20, 2026


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Image Details

During a break in the clouds, the
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(Operational Land Imager) on
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captured an image of landslide fallout in the forested Gazelle district of East New Britain on April 20, 2026 (right). A second image from Landsat 9 shows the same area on September 24, 2025 (left), before the landslides.

Since much of Papua New Guinea lies close to the equator where the

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is weak, the risk of
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striking the island nation is relatively low, especially in its northern areas. Nevertheless,
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sea surface temperatures and atmospheric conditions favorable to storm formation brought powerful
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dangerously close to the islands of Bougainville, New Britain, and New Ireland in April 2026, fueling
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.

The heavy rains saturated steep terrain in the Gazelle district of East New Britain, triggering landslides on and around April 9 that led to several deaths, according to

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. The
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satellite captured an image of the fresh landslide scars cutting through the dense tropical forests in the Baining Mountains on April 20, 2026. The Toriu River and other sediment-laden waterways are visible to the east of the landslides.

The landslides appear as light-brown swaths of exposed soil and debris extending north toward a nearby river valley, contrasting with the surrounding green vegetation and scattered white clouds. A second image from Landsat 9 shows the same area on September 24, 2025, before the landslides.

Maila was notable for its intensity—reaching Category 4 strength on

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(Category 3 on the
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used for U.S. hurricanes)—and also for its slow movement near Papua New Guinea. Instead of passing quickly through the region, Maila lingered, allowing rainbands to repeatedly strike East New Britain. Satellite-based
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from NASA’s
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(GPM) mission indicate that hundreds of millimeters of rain likely fell across the region in less than a week.

NASA’s

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(LHASA) model uses precipitation estimates from GPM along with slope, soil, and land cover data to identify areas where rainfall is likely to
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. During the height of the storm, LHASA highlighted parts of East New Britain—including the Baining Mountains—as having an
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of slope failure.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the 

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. Story by Adam Voiland.

Downloads

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September 24, 2025

JPEG (18.10 MB)

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April 20, 2026

JPEG (17.23 MB)

References & Resources

  • Eos (2026, April 17)
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    . Accessed April 30, 2026.
  • Forbes (2018, June 28)
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    . Accessed April 30, 2026.
  • Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (2007)
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    . Accessed April 30, 2026.
  • Li, M. & Toumi, R. (2025)
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    ? Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 152(774), e70014.
  • NASA (2026)
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    . Accessed April 30, 2026.
  • NASA (2026)
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    . Accessed April 30, 2026.
  • NASA Scientific Visualization Studio (2026)
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    . Accessed April 30, 2026.
  • Post-Courier (2026, April 16)
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    . Accessed April 30, 2026.
  • ReliefWeb (2026)
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    . Accessed April 30, 2026.
  • RNZ (2026, April 16)
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    . Accessed April 30, 2026.
  • Stanley, T. A., et al. (2021)
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    . Frontiers in Earth Science, 9
  • U.S. Department of State, via
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    (2026, April 14)
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    Accessed April 30, 2026.

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