Speaker: Dr Saskia de Vilder, Engineering Geologist at GNS Science

Date: Tuesday, 1 July 2025, 6pm

Venue: Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (159 Dalton Street, Napier)

Admission: Gold coin donation

Landslides of all types and sizes occur across Aotearoa New Zealand. As we saw during Cyclone Gabrielle, they can have devastating impacts—causing loss of life, damaging and destroying homes, and isolating communities long after the rain has stopped. To plan effectively, invest wisely, and reduce our landslide risk, we need to know where and when landslides might occur, how large they could be, who or what they might impact, and what the consequences are likely to be. In short, we need national-scale maps of landslide hazard and risk that can support both emergency response and long-term planning.

This talk explores how the Hōretireti Whenua | Sliding Lands research programme is advancing Aotearoa’s ability to understand and reduce landslide risk. The programme aims to transform information about rapid landslide hazards into knowledge about vulnerability and risk—built on an understanding of how people perceive: (1) landslide phenomena, (2) community and individual vulnerability, and (3) model capabilities and outputs.

The presentation will also highlight how data from the record-breaking landslides triggered by Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023 are being used to test and improve these models. By combining end-to-end modelling with integrated hazard, risk, and impact information—and drawing on social science insights—Sliding Lands is working to ensure that when gravity does its worst, we’re better prepared.

Dr. Saskia de Vilder is an Engineering Geologist at GNS Science with expertise in landslide hazard and risk modelling, rock slope failure, and the interface between science and policy. Her research focuses on understanding how and why landslides occur, how far they travel, and the risks they pose to people, infrastructure, and the environment.
She led the development of a national natural hazard risk framework for the Department of Conservation, supporting consistent assessment of life-safety risks across public conservation lands. Saskia is also a lead author of the Landslide Planning Guidance, which helps land-use planners incorporate landslide hazard and risk into planning decisions to reduce exposure and build resilience.