# AI advises running uphill and away from a landslide to escape falling rocks

- **ID:** `disaster/landslide-run-uphill-opposite-myth`
- **Domain:** disaster
- **Category:** life_threatening
- **Verification:** ai_generated
- **Fix Rate:** 78%

## Root Cause

Landslides can travel uphill on the opposite side of a valley due to momentum and debris flow dynamics; running uphill may place you in the path of the slide's runout.

## Version Compatibility

| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated |
|---------|--------|------------|------------|
| USGS Landslide | active | — | — |
| FEMA | active | — | — |

## Workarounds

1. **Move perpendicular to the landslide path, toward a stable area or a nearby structure, avoiding the slide's runout zone** (80% success)
   ```
   Move perpendicular to the landslide path, toward a stable area or a nearby structure, avoiding the slide's runout zone
   ```
2. **If a landslide is imminent, curl into a ball and protect your head with your arms; do not try to outrun it** (70% success)
   ```
   If a landslide is imminent, curl into a ball and protect your head with your arms; do not try to outrun it
   ```
3. **After the slide, watch for secondary slides and stay away from the area; report to local authorities** (85% success)
   ```
   After the slide, watch for secondary slides and stay away from the area; report to local authorities
   ```

## Dead Ends

- **** — Landslide debris can surge up the opposite slope; this is common in valley-confined slides (75% fail)
- **** — The slide may originate above you, and you could be caught in the source area (80% fail)
- **** — Debris flows can travel at high speeds, and downhill running is slower and unstable (90% fail)