Large rock and ice avalanches frequently produce cascading processes in High Mountain Asia

Abstract

Rock and ice avalanches – or combinations thereof – are among the most far-reaching types of hazards in the mountain cryosphere. Here, we report a first complete inventory of rock and ice avalanches in High Mountain Asia (HMA) and assess 60 events predominating from steep glacial and periglacial zones, including 29 cascading processes, resulting in 1366 casualties and >500,000 people displaced. Overall, these hazards are clearly not rare in HMA and are both lethal and destructive.