landslide; mountain tsunami
A vivid term for a large-scale landslide, often used in disaster contexts. Literally means 'mountain tsunami', evoking the destructive force of a wave of earth and rock.
A landslide occurred due to heavy rain, isolating the village.
土砂崩れ refers to a collapse of earth and sand, often smaller in scale than the catastrophic image of 山津波.
Compound of 山 (mountain) and 津波 (tsunami), literally 'mountain tsunami'. The term likely arose from the visual and destructive similarity between a large landslide and a tsunami.