On 31 May 1970, a large earthquake shook the highest part of the Peruvian Andes. Millions of cubic meters of rock dislodged from a mountainside and initiated a rock avalanche that traveled more than 14 km in 3 min, burying a city and killing more than 25,000 people (1, 2). On 17 February 2006, a landslide of 15 million m3 that initiated on a slope weakened by long-term tectonic activity buried more than 1100 people on Leyte Island in the Philippines (3). Landslides such as these are a hazard in almost all countries, causing billions of dollars of damage and many casualties (4). Landslides also contribute to landscape evolution and erosion in mountainous regions (see the first figure). Here we discuss the latest strategies used to assess and mitigate landslide hazards.