They are a form of landslide where fine soil or sand becomes waterlogged

Earthflows can vary in speed from barely detectable to 12 mph (20km/h)

Most people would run away if they saw a pile of soil and rubble creeping towards them as if it had a life of its own.

But one Russian YouTuber captured the terrifying moment a stream of soil flowed down a bank next to a main road, crushing trees in its powerful path and leaving toppled power lines in its wake.

The eerie phenomenon is called an 'earthflow' and is a rare type of landslide.

A Russian YouTuber has captured the terrifying moment a stream of soil flowed down a bank next to a main road (pictured), crushing trees in its powerful path and leaving toppled power lines in its wake

Alexander Giniyatullin kept a remarkably steady hand filming the scary scene in the Kemerovo Region of Russia, which is thought to have happened at around 1pm on April 1, according to a blog post on the American Geophysical Union’s website.

In the video, snow-covered soil can be seen sliding down the bank at the side of a road, which is thought to run between Novokuznetsk and Bolshaya Talda.

The earthflow also blocked nearby railroad tracks and caused power outages, but no one was hurt.

Commenting on the post, a user called Michal said: ‘The landslide looks like it may have come from a large coal mine area.'

Alexander Giniyatullin kept a remarkably steady hand filming the scary scene in the Kemerovo Region of Russia (shown by the red marker), which is thought to have happened at 1pm on April 1

WHAT IS AN EARTHFLOW? An earthflow is a type of landslide. It's a viscous flow of fine-grained materials, such as clay, sand and silt that have been saturated with water and moves downhill because of the pull of gravity. As the earthflow moves down a slope, it remains covered with any vegetation and typically leaves a bowl-shaped depression behind. Earthflows usually begin in a large basin on the upper part of a slope where debris and weathered material accumulate. They are usually triggered by heavy rainfall, so that when the debris becomes saturated with enough water, it starts flowing downhill. The speed of an earthflow can vary depending on the amount of water present and the angle of the slope and varies from 0.11 to 12.4 mph (0.17 to 20 km/h). Advertisement

As the earthflow gathers momentum, it can be seen crushing trees in its path, and the sound of crumbling soil and splintering wood can be heard in the video.

The cameraman backs away as the material eerily creeps across the width of the road, where he was previously standing and it seems to spread along the bank at a walking pace.

An earthflow is a viscous flow of fine-grained materials, such as clay, sand and silt that have been saturated with water and moves downhill because of the pull of gravity.

As the earthflow runs down a slope, it remains covered with any vegetation and typically leaves a bowl-shaped depression behind.

It is slower than a mud flow, which can cover villages beneath mud in minutes.

Earthflows usually begin in a large basin on the upper part of a slope where debris and weathered material accumulate, - although this point cannot be seen in the video.

As the earthflow gathers momentum, it can be seen crushing trees in its path (pictured) and the sound of crumbling soil and splintering wood can be heard

The speed of an earthflow can vary depending on the amount of water present and the angle of the slope and varies from being barely noticeable to relatively rapid, as seen in the video when a road becomes completely blocked (pictured) in a matter of minutes

CLIMATE CHANGE MAY BE CAUSING ROCKFALL IN THE FRENCH ALPS Research suggests that rockfall son Mont Blanc (pictured) are caused by warming temperatures Climbers have long suspected that hotter summers trigger rockfalls on the slopes of Mont Blanc in the French Alps. Now a study of 533 rockfalls reported by climbers or spotted on satellite images of the mountain since 2003, has bolstered the opinion that climate change is making popular routes up Europe's highest mountain more treacherous. Ludovic Ranavel of the University of Savoie at Le Bourget-du-Lac in the Alps, spotted a strong correlation between the number of rockfalls and air and rock temperatures on the slopes, New Scientist reported. He thinks that melting permafrost may be to blame, because it loosens rocks that were held in place with ice, causing them to fall. The expert revealed that 95 per cent of rockfalls around the mountain occur during between June and September - the hottest months of the year. Most begin in areas 10,170ft (3,100 metres) above sea level, close to the zone containing perma ice, he told the European Geosciences Union's general assembly in Vienna. As the Alps get hotter, the zone is thought to be receding, creating more rockfalls than before. Advertisement

They are usually triggered by heavy rainfall, so that when the debris becomes saturated with enough water, it starts flowing downhill.

The video shows a stream of water running down the road as the debris falls down the slope, indicating the mass of soil is waterlogged.

The speed of an earthflow can vary depending on the amount of water present and the angle of the slope, varying from being barely noticeable to relatively rapid, as seen in the video when a road becomes completely blocked in a matter of minutes.

Experts at San Diego State University said speeds can range from 0.11 to 12.4 mph (0.17 to 20 km/h).

In fact, it can take minutes or years for material to move down slops and earthflows can affect anything from a few metres of land, to several hectares.

In the video, the flow of debris is quite fast and it’s possible to see industrial equipment toppled at the top of the slope, while trees are crushed beneath the moving earth and what appear to be power lines and pylons pulled down and dragged along by the moving mass of earth.

The movement seems to speed up as the cameraman beats a hasty retreat down the road.

When he pans back along the way he has come, the road is completely blocked by a debris that looks as if it is between one and two storeys high in places.