Numerous landslides have plagued a project to straighten a section of Oregon’s Highway 20 through a part of the Coast Range that receives over 100 inches of rain per year. Landslide damage will force the state to demolish four new bridges.
Mud, rocks and trees flowed over State Route 410 west of Yakima, Washington. The Department of Transportation first called the event a landslide but decided later that it was a washout. See photo.
Landslide hazards may cause the Chinese government to relocate 100,000 people near the Three Gorges Dam. Landslides on the banks of the reservoir have increased dramatically since it was filled to its operating capacity in 2010.
Engineers initially thought that a landslide blocking state Route 14 in Utah would require a few weeks to repair. Now they realize that repairs will take several months. (Be sure to look at the large gallery of photos.)
Over two years ago a large landslide covered a quarter mile of Washington State Route 410. Now the state plans to end the detours and build a new section of Route 410 around the landslide debris.
There are three possible solutions for the landslide that destroyed a 900-foot stretch of Paseo del Mar in September, 2011. A) build a bridge, B) build a road through a nature preserve, C) terminate the Paseo del Mar.
An article on the Fredericksburg.com website explains the plight of homeowners who have a landslide scarp a few feet from their foundations and the efforts to determine who should pay for slope stabilization.
A video on the SwissInfo.ch website shows how large falling rocks can sometimes be caught with a steel net. It also illustrates several methods of landslide monitoring.
A video on the Risques.tv website shows a blast that was done to mitigate a landslide hazard near Grenoble, France. You can see commentary about the project on the Landslide Blog.
Dave Petley has been tracking developments associated with the Tumbi Quarry landslide in Papua New Guinea. This post: “How Can a Quarry Cause a Landslide?” has an impressive overview photo.
Landslides can damage more than buildings, highways and underground utilities. A landslide near Cedar City, Utah has caused severe damage to local economies.
“Decision-support systems can be used to help synthesize, visualize, and analyze the natural-science and socioeconomic information needed for making risk-reduction and land-use choices.”
An article in the Los Angeles Times reports that the California Department of Transportation would like to abandon State Highway 39 because landslide and other problems are costing $1.5 million per year to repair.
Pittsburgh is located in an area with a very high incidence of landslides. People there regularly learn that homeowners insurance does not cover landslides and special landslide insurance – if it is available – can be extremely expensive.
After dozens of people were killed by a landslide triggered by artisanal miners in the Philippines, the government has evicted 83 families that were living in dangerous areas.
Leo Jasareno, director of the Philippines Mines and Geosciences Bureau estimates that 30% of recent landslides in the Philippines have been triggered by the poor excavation practices of artisanal miners.
Damage caused by a landslide that cut off the Paseo Del Mar highway near San Pedro, California appears to be confined to an area fenced off by the city. The Contra Costa Times has a photo showing the severity of damage.
Trout populations in the Eel River of California which now spawn in separate locations were for centuries confined by a landslide into a single area where interbreeding occurred.
Dave Petley has posted an update with before and after photos for the recent landslide that occurred at a power plant near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The slide sent an estimated 2500 cubic yards of ash into the waters of Lake Michigan.
Over one million acres of land in Arizona was damaged by wildfires in 2011. Now these areas are subject to potential debris flows during heavy rain. A recent article on the Arizona Geological Survey website describes the problem.
Dave Petley has an interesting blog post about the Aberfan Disaster, a massive landslide that occurred on October 21st, 1966. It is the UK’s worst landslide, killing 144 people.
Citizens will have a chance to learn about how landslides work, how to spot hazardous areas and view landslide hazard maps at an October 13 forum in Oregon City. This is a great way for government agencies to share information about geology.
This news video visits several landslide sites near Portland, Oregon and gives tips on how to avoid problems. Homeowners insurance usually does not cover landslide damage.
Landslide incidence mapping in Japan has identified nearly 300,000 locations of landslide concern. Although landslides are triggered by heavy typhoon rains in many parts of Japan, local governments have been slow to implement landslide education and mitigation programs.
“As large parts of the nation recover from nature’s one-two punch—an earthquake followed by Hurricane Irene—building researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology warn that a double whammy of seismic and wind hazards can increase the risk of structural damage to as much as twice the level implied in building codes.” Quoted from the National Institute of Standards and Technology news release.
This isn’t news but the Oregon State University website has an excellent article titled: “Super-Scale Slumping of the Southern Oregon Cascadia Margin: Tsunamis, Tectonic Erosion, and Extension of the Forearc” with great seafloor maps and seismic sections. Be sure to enlarge the images.
Large landslides produce about 10% of the world’s tsunamis. Researchers at Oregon State University have a laboratory that models landslide-generated tsunamis by launching a ton and a half of gravel down a steep incline into water.
Recent heavy rain and flooding has increased the danger of landslides on moderate to steep slopes. [...] Landslides could be an issue in areas not otherwise susceptible to them, particularly in central and eastern Pennsylvania.
Motorists, property managers and local officials, and any property owners with steep slopes should be aware of the potential for landslides. [...] Periodic inspections of slope conditions on and adjacent to critical infrastructure, as feasible, are recommended during and after periods of the heavy rainfall. Quoted from the Pennsylvania DCNR press release.
The United States Geological Survey has a helicopter flying instruments at low altitude over Mount St. Helens. They are collecting moisture data that will be used to assess the potential for landslides.
Typhoon Nanmadol triggered a garbage dump landslide near the city of Baguio in the Philippines.
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