August 2009 fatal landslide map

Here is the fatal landslide map for August 2009. As usual each yellow dot represents a single landslide that killed one or more people:

Click on the map for a better (downloadable) view in a new window.

The statistics are as follows:
Number of recorded fatal landslides: 53
Number of fatalities: 782

In terms of fatalities this places August well above the 2002-2008 average (347 fatalities). Of course this is dominated by Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan, and in particular the landslide at Hsiaolin. However, the map shows clearly the impact of the SW monsoon along the southern edge of the Himalayas and also the impact of typhoons in E. Asia. Elsewhere there is the normal smattering of landslides here and there. The lack of slides in S. America is perhaps surprising. The paucity of hurricanes in the Caribbean means that this area is not figuring at the moment. I wonder if we will see a large, late season event.