Cyclone Rains Spur Papua New Guinea Landslides
Heavy rains from Tropical Cyclone Maila triggered deadly landslides in the Gazelle district of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, in early April 2026. Satellite images from Landsat 9 captured the extent of the landslide scars in the Baining Mountains, contrasting the landscape before and after the event. Unusually warm sea surface temperatures allowed the cyclone to form near the equator, where such storms are rare, leading to prolonged rainfall and elevated landslide risks in the region.
- ▪Tropical Cyclone Maila reached Category 4 on Australia's cyclone intensity scale and lingered near Papua New Guinea, causing prolonged heavy rainfall.
- ▪Landslides occurred in the Gazelle district of East New Britain around April 9, 2026, resulting in several deaths.
- ▪NASA's Landsat 9 satellite captured images on September 24, 2025, and April 20, 2026, showing the landscape before and after the landslides.
- ▪NASA’s LHASA model identified East New Britain, including the Baining Mountains, as having elevated landslide risk during the storm.
- ▪Satellite precipitation data from NASA’s GPM mission indicated hundreds of millimeters of rain fell in the region in less than a week.
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Earth ObservatoryScienceEarth ObservatoryCyclone Rains Spur Papua New...EarthEarth ObservatoryImage of the DayEO ExplorerTopicsAll TopicsAtmosphereLandHeat & RadiationLife on EarthHuman DimensionsNatural EventsOceansRemote Sensing TechnologySnow & IceWaterMore ContentCollectionsGlobal MapsWorld of ChangeArticlesNotes from the Field BlogEarth Matters BlogBlue Marble: Next GenerationEO KidsMission: BiomesAboutAbout UsSubscribe🛜 RSSContact UsSearch 3 min readCyclone Rains Spur Papua New Guinea LandslidesImage of the Day for May 1, 2026Heavy rains from Tropical Cyclone Maila triggered a deadly landslide in the mountains of East New Britain.NASA Earth ObservatoryMay 01, 2026 Article View more Images of the Day:Apr 30, 2026Instruments:Landsat 9 — OLITopics:CyclonesExtreme WeatherLandslides…
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