River landslides in Nizhny Novgorod region and a possibility of local tsunami generation

Landslides occurred in steep river banks and entering water are able to generate local tsunamis in the river, which can result in the strong impact on coasts and coastal structures. The first described event of this type occurred in Nizhny Novgorod in 1597, when the whole Pechersky monastery slid down into the river and induced a local tsunami which penetrated at least 50 m inland. Here we study the current situation of landslide occurrence along large rivers of Nizhny Novgorod region: Volga and Oka and discuss the possibility of tsunami generation. It is shown that in 2001-2011, 16 landslides along river banks were documented and one of them, which occurred in Gorbatov in 2001, slid into the water and induced tsunami. The parameters of the landslides are summarized and discussed and effects of tsunami generation by the Gorbatov landslide are analyzed.