Landslides

[Robyn Appleton]

"The causes of landslides are not a mystery to mankind. Layers of rock and soil such that rain running along a clay or rock layer can create a slippery surface for the weight of the layers above it is a common cause. A rock jumble from previous mountain building, broken or fractured rock easily dislodged. We have stated that the earthquakes man experiences between the periodic passages of Planet X can be considered aftershocks from the last passage, and this is true of landslides also. Mountain building rumples the landscape, so the land is not flat but has steep ravines and hill sides. Older mountain ranges are recognized for their rounded or smoothed appearance, because of frequent landslides distributing the rubble.

"As we approach another passage, another Pole Shift, the pace of landslides has picked up. Why would this be? Plates under pressure will put pressure on regions that contain rumpled hillsides and deep ravines, as these give more readily than strictly flat land, thus act as a weak link. In addition, due to the wobble, the weather has gotten more extreme, with drought and deluge increasing in extremes. Dry ground, suddenly flooded with rainwater needing to seek its level as runoff, will create internal water slides between the rock and soil layers that constitute the rumpled hillsides. Is there an early warning system that mankind could use? The trembles that soil about to slide emits could be detected, yes. These are not earthquakes, and have their own frequency. "

ZetaTalk Chat Q&A: March 22, 2014

[KM]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4927832/One-dead-one-injure...

Horror at Yosemite: One dead and one injured after rocks 'the size of an apartment building' tear off of famous El Capitan mountain and bury climbers

• The rockslide occurred at 1.55pm at Yosemite National Park in California on Wednesday 
• Climber Peter Zabrok said he watched 100ft by 100ft pieces of granite fall
• He narrowly avoided death but watched in horror as it buried others below
• Emergency services are still working to remove people from the rock face 
• Zabrok told DailyMail.com the sound was like 'a thousand freight trains derailing at once - but louder' 
• Around 30 people were feared to have been following the popular El Capitan route when the rocks fell  

One person is dead and another has been injured in a rockslide at Yosemite National Park.

It happened on the popular El Capitan hiking route at 1.55pm on Wednesday afternoon.

Around 30 people were feared to have been climbing on the rock face at the time. 

Survivor Peter Zabrok, who spoke to DailyMail.com on Wednesday night as he made his way back to base, narrowly avoided death. 

He had just climbed above the piece of the rock which tore off when he watched from a 'birds eye view' as it fell away, crashing down on others beneath him and his climbing partners. 

A deadly rockslide occurred at Yosemite National Park in California on Wednesday, killing one and injuring at least one other. It is shown above as it happened at 1.55pm on Wednesday 

'We were climbing the route where the rockfall occurred and we got a bird's-eye view of the rockfall. 

'I observed a 100 foot by 100 foot by 100 foot piece of granite peel off and fall 2000 feet to the ground. It was the size of an apartment building' he said. 

Zabrok said the sound of the fall was like 'a thousand freight trains derailing at once but louder'. 

'There were two people walking at the base and the appeared to get hit and completely buried. 

'We are past it and we are safe. Had we been underneath it we would have died for sure. I give thanks to God and my Saviour Jesus Christ,' he said. 

The fall trigger three smaller slides, he said, which left emergency workers in danger. 

'There have been three subsequent enormous rock falls and this rescuer is in tremendous peril,' he said, immediately after the first one.  

[KM]

https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7f4_1505170494

Melting permafrost flows like lava through Tibetan Plateau 

Impressive footage has emerged of melting permafrost slowing churning up grassland on the Tibetan Plateau. 

The video, filmed in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in China's southwestern Qinghai Province on September 7, shows mud and grass being churned up in a process known as solifluction phenomenon.

It happens because permafrost is impermeable to water - any soil on top of it may become waterlogged and slide downslope due to gravity. 

Several families and a farm were affected by the incident. 

The farm has had to relocate.

 

 

[Yvonne Lawson]

Swiss glacier collapses after hundreds evacuated

Part of the Swiss alpine glacier Trift in the country's south collapsed on Sunday, but caused no damage or casualties and residents evacuated from the area can return home, police in Valais canton said.

More than 220 people living in the ski resort of Saas-Fee had to leave their homes on Saturday as authorities feared a collapse of the glacier could trigger an ice avalanche which could reach the village.

 

The lower part of the glacier collapsed early Sunday but did not reach the houses, allowing residents to return and for a local road to reopen, though hiking trails remain closed, police said in a statement.

 

Geologists had recently noticed significant movement along the "tongue" of the Trift glacier, up to 130 centimetres in a single day, local authorities said.

 

"There remains only about a third" of the unstable tongue of the Trift glacier, police said, adding that the area is under surveillance and "the situation will be continually reevaluated."

 

The glacier had been under observation since October 2014, when the area was closed for three weeks. With a return to colder temperatures, the situation stabilised and the access ban was lifted.

 

But since the start of the week, movement had increased on the lower part of the glacier.

 

In late August, a massive rockfall triggered an avalanche which buried eight hikers in another valley in the Swiss Alps, near Bondo.

Source:  https://www.thelocal.ch/20170910/swiss-glacier-collapses-after-hund...

[Tracie Crespo]

https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/heavy-rains-lash-west-sikki...

Heavy rains lash West Sikkim, several areas affected

Gangtok, Sep 4 Heavy rains lashed several parts of Yuksam in West Sikkim during the past few days causing landslides and severely damaging roads in the area.

Normal Life was affected in Yuksam as heavy rains led to landslides across Yuksam-Dubdi GPU. Heavy damage to roads, houses and other infrastructure was reported from several places in Yuksam.

The Yuksam Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) has alerted residents living at vulnerable areas like landslide prone zones and advised them to move to safer locations.

Landslides have been reported from almost the entire stretch of Yuksam Subdivision, Yuksam SDM Sonam R Lepcha said.

Gangtok, Sep 4 Heavy rains lashed several parts of Yuksam in West Sikkim during the past few days causing landslides and severely damaging roads in the area.

Normal Life was affected in Yuksam as heavy rains led to landslides across Yuksam-Dubdi GPU. Heavy damage to roads, houses and other infrastructure was reported from several places in Yuksam.

The Yuksam Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) has alerted residents living at vulnerable areas like landslide prone zones and advised them to move to safer locations.

Landslides have been reported from almost the entire stretch of Yuksam Subdivision, Yuksam SDM Sonam R Lepcha said.

e.vnexpress.net/news/news/landslides-kill-2-injure-7-in-vietnam-s-northern-mountains-3636707.html

Landslides kill 2, injure 7 in Vietnam's northern mountains

By Phuong Son   September 4, 2017 | 10:12 am GMT+7

Local authorities visit the injured victims at the hospital. Photo courtesy of Yen Bai Newspaper

A 8-month-old child and her mother perished.

Heavy rains lashed the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai late Sunday, triggering landslides that killed an 8-month-old child and her mother and injured 7 other people.

The local authorities have provided the families of dead victims with VND5 million ($220) each and the injured VND3 million each. They are also scrambling to evacuate landslide-prone households. 

Heavy rains and flash floods also hit Yen Bai last month, killing 14 people and washing away hundreds of homes.

https://www.kcaw.org/2017/09/04/landslide-closes-halibut-point-road...

Landslide closes Halibut Point Road in Sitka

Posted by KCAW News | Sep 4, 2017

Approximate location of the slide, which occurred at around noon today. (KCAW image)

UPDATE – 1:30 p.m. Monday, September 4

Officials in Sitka have closed Halibut Point Road at the rec to assess a landslide which occurred in the 4300-block at around noon today (9-4-17).

No injuries or property damage have been reported as a result of the slide. Some residences in the vicinity of Vallhalla Drive have been evacuated as a precaution.

Local authorities are in direct communication with KCAW. We’ll keep you posted as more information about this event becomes known.

UPDATE – 1:15 p.m. Monday, September 4

Authorities in Sitka have closed Halibut Point Road from the rec and beyond to assess a landslide that crossed the highway around noontime today (Monday 9-4-17).

There’s no word yet of any damage or injuries, or the extent of the slide. The Sitka Fire Department has been in direct contact with KCAW. We will update you as more information becomes available.

https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/landslide-obstructs-vehicular-m...

Landslide obstructs vehicular movement along Besishar-Chame road se...

Published: September 04, 2017 10:16 pm On: Nepal

  

RAMJI RANA

Police is seen walking along the Chame-Besishar road section, blocked by landslide at Arghalebesi in Lamjung district, on Monday, September 4, 2017. Photo: Ramji Rana

LAMJUNG: The vehicular movement along the Besishar-Chame road section has been halted due to landslide at Arghalebesi in Lamjung Marsyangdi Rural Municipality-3 in Lamjung district.

After the landslide, the road connectivity with Manang district have been disconnected since yesterday morning.

Chairperson of the Marsyangdi Rural Municipality Arjun Gurung said vehicular movement would be halted for couple of days as boulders of landslide with huge stone had blocked the road.

He further said up to 40 metres of rock have cascaded onto the road.

Khudi Police Post in-charge Sub Inspector Nawaraj Bhattarai said vehicles plying via Rambazaar, Syange in Lamjung to Manang district have been stranded on the road. “It will take at least couple of days to clear landslide debris as rocks are too big in size,”.

Vice Chairman of Marsyangdi Rural Municipality Hom Bahadur BK said landslide swept away walking trails and people have been taking risks while walking in the area.

Meanwhile, Road Division Office Damauli field engineer Gautam Kumar Shrestha said preparations are underway to open the blocked road and traffic would resume by Tuesday.

He further said an excavator will be used in coordination with the local administration as JCV failed to clear the landslide debris and crack huge stones.

Acting Chief District Officer Tirtha Bahadur Adhikari has urged the chief of Road Division Office to open the road in earliest.

“Its been more than two decades the track was opened to connect Chame, district headquarters of Manag, however, the road has not been upgraded where the locals are compelled to make a perilous journey along the road,” locals lamented.

Meanwhile, vehicles would take at least 8 hours drive along the 65 km road from Besisahar of Lamjung district to reach Chame in Manang district.

[Howard]

More on yesterday's massive landslide in southern China: 

An enormous rockslope failure occurred at 10:40 am August 28 at Zhangjiawan Township, Nayong County. 

The slide buried 34 houses; seven people were recovered alive but injured. 

Although there are 3 known fatalities with 32 people missing, the likelihood of any finding other additional survivors is vanishingly small.

Over 2,000 people, including police, firefighters and medical staff are at the scene and more than 80 emergency vehicles, 20 life detectors, 17 digging machines and 8 drones are involved in the rescue work.

This appears to be a massive rockslide, with a fair amount of toppling as the landslide developed.  Unusual for a non-seismic slide, the failure seems to have developed from the ridge crest and then to have entrained debris from lower on the slope.  The result is a landslide with a morphology that is more reminiscent of an earthquake-induced slide.

The trigger for the landslide remains unclear.

Sources

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-08/28/c_136562990_4.htm

http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2017/08/29/zhangjiawan-landslide-1/

[KM]

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/one-dead-37-missing-after-landslide-hit...

One dead, 37 missing after landslide hits city in southern China

BEIJING - A landslide Monday buried dozens of homes in southern China, killing one person and leaving 37 missing, the local government said.

The side of a mountain crashed down on the homes of 34 families on the outskirts of the city of Bijie around midday, the Guizhou provincial government said on its microblog.

It said rescue teams had been dispatched along with tents, blankets and other emergency supplies.

There was no immediate word on the cause, although southern China has been battered in recent days by a pair of typhoons bringing heavy rain that can saturate soil and destabilize steep land.

The storms caused more than a dozen deaths in the casino hub of Macau and southern China's Guangdong province over the last week.

Mountainous Guizhou is one of China's poorest provinces and the provincial government estimated losses at more than 5.1 million yuan ($768,000).

[jorge namour]

Eight missing after Switzerland landslide

August 24, 2017

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/24/europe/switzerland-landslide/inde...

(CNN)Eight people were reported missing Thursday after a landslide hit the Swiss town of Bondo, local police said.

The landslide occurred Wednesday morning and the missing are from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Helicopters and rescue services were leading the search for the missing on Thursday.
Bondo is located in the southeastern Val Bondasca area, near the Italian border. The town was evacuated after the landslide, and residents have not been able to return to their homes, according to a police statement.

Moment landslide hurtles towards Swiss town

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/95968810/cliff-collapse-swallows-b...

Cliff collapse swallows backyard in Bucklands Beach, east Auckland

Last updated 13:33, August 21 2017

A sudden collapse of a 10-metre cliff has swallowed a backyard in East Auckland.

Real estate agent Ben Dellabarca and his flat mate were walking his dogs long Eastern Beach around midday on Sunday when the pair noticed rocks coming off the rock face.

All of a sudden a massive hunk of dirt, debris, trees and what seemed to be a retaining wall fell away, crashing onto the beach below.

A cliff collapsed, taking the back yard, fence and trees with it at Auckland's Eastern Beach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgJ61Cvx6kQ

[Yvonne Lawson]

At least 200 are killed after being trapped under rubble in huge Sierra Leone mudslide

At least 200 have been killed after a mudslide sparked by heavy rain crashed through part of Sierra Leone's capital.

Homes were swept away in Regent, in the outskirts of Freetown, while roads turned into rampaging rivers as the mudslide struck.

Relatives dug through the mud in search of their loved ones and a morgue overflowed with bodies after heavy rains and flooding.

Shocking pictures on social media have emerged online showing bodies piled up in the mud. 

Vice President Victor Foh said: 'It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble.

'The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken,' he added. 'We're trying to cordon (off) the area (and) evacuate the people.'

People cried as they looked at the damage under steady rain, gesturing toward a muddy hillside where dozens of houses used to stand, a Reuters witness said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4789142/Hundreds-likely-dea... 

[KM]

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/residents-been-told-le...

Residents have been told to leave their homes because their lives are at risk

Residents were handed letters telling them they must vacate their homes today

Families have been told to move out of their homes as their lives are at risk due to landslips at the rear of their properties.

Residents on Cyfyng Road in Ystalyfera in the upper Swansea Valley were handed letters from Neath Port Talbot Council effectively telling them they must vacate their homes by Thursday, August 10.

The letter states: “Following our monitoring and investigation relating to the landslips at the rear of your property, we are of the opinion that there continues to be a risk to life and property, with the houses in 81-96 Cyfyng Road containing hazards relating to structural collapse, and the sewerage system serving some of the houses is inadequate.”

A council spokesman said it is "the council's intention to secure alternative accommodation for the residents affected".

He said the decision to tell residents to leave their homes had "not been taken lightly" but it was "a matter of public safety".

It comes six months after a landslide hit the street , which saw trees and bushes tear down the hillside into the Swansea canal.

And while it is understood that some families have already left, others have not been so quick to pack their bags.

One resident, Paul Harris, said: “We have all been told that we have to move out immediately but I have two dogs so I can’t move anywhere. They were talking about offering me a B&B in Swansea but the dogs will have to go into kennels but I won’t do that.”

Cyfyng Road resident, Paul Harris in what is left of his back garden.

Mr Harris has questioned the level of danger.

He said: “If there is an immediate risk to life, why haven’t they closed the road? There are children walking down here with their mothers and prams. If this house goes it could just crash down and kill someone. Is there really that level of risk?”

Another resident, David Morris, said: “I grew up here around landslides so I don’t think it’s as dangerous as they are making out.

John Emery, who said he has yet to receive a letter, complained over a lack of information.

He said: “We have ended up with people frightened out of their minds and you can’t get any blasted answers from the council.

“It makes me feel very, very worried. We were told several months ago that it was perfectly safe, there was no fall away but now we are being told we have to go.

“It’s a miserable situation. We have been completely left in the dark. I think we have been treated disgustingly.”

Cyfyng Road resident, John Emery.

A spokesman for Neath Port Talbot Council said: "The decision to ask people to leave their homes at such short notice has not been taken lightly, but this is a matter of public safety.

“Following monitoring and investigation of the landslips at the rear of 81 to 96 Cyfyng Road, we are of the opinion that there is a high risk of further collapse and consequently a risk to the occupiers if they remain in these properties.

“Based on recent inspection findings and expert advice, we are now satisfied that Category 1 hazards exist at the properties which pose an imminent risk to the health and safety of occupiers and visitors and, as such, immediate emergency action had to be taken."

He added that help had been given.

He said: "“Council officers from relevant services have been in Ystalyfera to offer advice and support to the residents who are affected.

"The assistance is ongoing and it is the council's intention to secure alternative accommodation for the residents affected."