Massive landslide blocks Guwahati-Shillong highway

A massive landslide that occurred today evening at Umling, about 43 kms from Guwahati on National Highway 40 that connects the Assam capital with Shillong, has brought traffic to a standstill, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded on both sides for several kilometres.

Ri Bhoi district deputy SP (Traffic) Rymphang Pde said the landslide occurred at around 5:45 PM today, with passengers of several vehicles including a couple of small cars having a providential escape from the jaws of death. “It will hopefully take another three to four hours to clear the debris,” the dy SP said, indicating it will be not before midnight that the road would be cleared.

Hafl-a-dozen bulldozers have been pressed into service to clear the landslide on NH40, which is not only the only link between the capital cities of Assam and Meghalaya located 100 kms apart, but also vial lifeline for Tripura, Mizoram and the Barak Valley of southern Assam.

With earth-cutting taking place in a big way owing to widening of the original highway into a four-lane road in the last few years, the Guwahati-Shillong Road, as it is known, has experienced several smaller landslides in the past two weeks. Landslides had killed at least 18 people in Meghalaya in the past fortnight, eight of them including a pregnant woman in the heart of Shillong.

 Source:  http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/massive-landsli...  

Google Mapss

27.09.14. Rock collapse in San Vicente de Chucurí - Santander, Colombia

http://www.vanguardia.com/economia/local/280444-paso-restringido-a-...

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&a...

Landslide kills 6 in northern Colombia

Oct 8, 2014 posted by Joel Gillin

Days after a lightning bolt killed eleven tribal leaders in Colombia’s northern Sierra Nevada mountain range, a landslide killed five children and a mother in the same area on Tuesday.

Regional authorities are coordinating with the country’s Ombudsman  and relief agencies to bring aid to the approximately 125 families that live in the community affected by the landslide.

A commander from the army’s First Division confirmed that the landslide had buried a house in the indigenous community, killing the 6 victims.

The news comes just days after another tragedy befell an indigenous community in the same mountain range when lightening stuck a group of leaders meeting in a field, killing 11.

Source: http://colombiareports.co/landslide-slide-kills-6-indigenous-in-nor...

19 Road Workers Killed in Landslide in China, Two Injured

MOSCOW, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - At least 19 people were killed and two injured as a result of a landslide which occurred at a highway construction site in the city of Yan’an in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province Friday night, China Central Television reported.

Rescue workers told the Chinese media that the landslide, which occurred at 9:12 pm, buried 21 construction workers who were resting in eight makeshift boarding houses. Nine of the workers are said to have been killed instantly, ten more died in hospital, and two have been hospitalized and are undergoing treatment, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The workers were working on a project to connect Huangling City with Ya’an.

Local authorities are said to have undertaken precautionary measures, including a geological survey of the area, to avert further disasters, Xinhua said.

Landslides are common in Shaanxi Province. The province is part of the Loess Plateau, which is known for its sandy, erosion-prone soil, and susceptible to the forces of wind and water. This danger is further complicated by recent development projects in the area, including road construction and deforestation, which have only increased the risks in built up areas.

Source: http://en.ria.ru/world/20141011/193950386/19-Road-Workers-Killed-La...

11.10.14. Landslides on volcano Concepción, Altagracia, Rivas, Nicaragua

http://www.el19digital.com/articulos/ver/titulo:23025-realizan-eval...

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&a...
http://www.elpueblopresidente.com/galerias/ver/album:308-companera-...

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&a...

Eight people died and at least 13 were missing after rain-sodden hills in the outskirts of Hiroshima gave way early today in at least five landslides.

Video footage from the national broadcaster NHK showed suburban homes in the western Japanese city surrounded by streams of mud and debris, and residents picking their way over piles of rocks and dirt.

Rescue workers suspended by ropes from police helicopters were pulling victims from the rubble as they searched homes stranded amid piles of lumber from crushed houses.

Authorities issued warnings for possible further landslides and flooding due to unstable weather conditions.

Landslides are a constant risk in mountainous, crowded Japan, where many homes are built on or near steep slopes. Torrential rains in the early morning apparently caused slopes to collapse.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-8-dead-13-missing-in-japan-lan...

14.10.14. Landslide in Ocotepeque, Honduras

http://www.latribuna.hn/2014/10/15/intransitable-paso-hacia-guatema...
http://www.elheraldo.hn/inicio/758071-318/severos-da%C3%B1os-provoc...

13.10.14. Landslide in Renacimiento District, Chiriqui, Panama

http://laestrella.com.pa/panama/nacional/zafra-cafe-afectada-desliz...

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&a... 

Landslide cuts off access and power to Anacla and Bamfield

• by  Katya Slepian - Alberni Valley News
• posted Oct 22, 2014 at 11:00 AM

A landslide has occurred near Anacla and Bamfield, resulting in a loss of power and access to both communities. According to BC Hydro, 340 customers in the area have been without power since 10:39 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21 and will remain so until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

According to Huu-ayaht office administrator Phyllis Williams, the road - owned by Western Forest Products - is impassable starting at 32 km out from Port Alberni.

Community health and social development coordinator Kristen Young said that one of their workers had been sent out there but had to turn around due to a tree across the road. The regional district is looking into what has happened.

Source: http://www.albernivalleynews.com/news/280084222.html

Google Maps

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/297164-landslide-on-outskirts-of-fort-w...

More than a dozen cars trapped between two landslides on A82

STV 
26 October 2014 11:02 GMT

More than a dozen cars have been trapped between two landslips as heavy rain caused flooding and travel disruption across Scotland.

The A82 trunk road has been closed in two places between Fort William and Ballachulish, near Corrychurrachan, due to landslides.

Police Scotland said 15 cars had become trapped between the two landslips but nobody was in any danger.

The road was shut in both directions between Ballachulish Roundabout and Westend Roundabout shortly after 10am on Sunday.

Police Scotland say the trunk road is closed five miles south of the town at Corrychurrachan. 

Travellers on the main route from Glasgow to Inverness faced further disruption after reports of a fallen tree on the same road at Abriachan, between Inverness and Drumnadrochit.

The disruption came as the west of Scotland braced for 48 hours of heavy rain and high winds, with the Skye, Forth and Tay road bridges all closed to high-sided vehicles.

Aerial photo from Sri Lanka

http://tharunaya.co.uk/Sinhala_News/sinhalanews-haldummulla-landsli...

Rescuers search for buried villagers after a rain-triggered landslide in Xiaoxin Village, Dongchuan District of Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Oct. 28, 2014. Nine people were buried in the landslide which struck the village at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday.(Xinhua)

http://english.sina.com/china/p/2014/1028/749736.html

02.11.14. Lanslide in Yushu, Qinghai, China

http://www.mininews.com.cn/content/7069.html

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&a...

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/two-killed-in-switzerla...

http://news.sky.com/story/1374456/switzerland-landslide-kills-two-p...

Two killed in Switzerland landslide as building collapses

Press Association

www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/11/20/landslides-trigger-increase-...

Landslides trigger increase 
in chili price

Family's shock after huge chunk of garden suddenly disappears in landslip after heavy rainfall 

• Several tonnes of mud and rubble sent crashing down 100ft cliff in Dorset
• Residents were initially unaware of the gaping hole at end of their garden
• It was only after a neighbour knocked on door and told them of damage 
• Owner said they 'couldn't believe it - there was a huge hole in the garden'
• They are working with council to prevent any more of cliff coming away
  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2844240/Family-s-shock-huge...

A family were left shocked this morning after they woke up to find a huge chunk of their garden had suddenly disappeared in a landslip.

Several tonnes of mud and rubble were sent crashing down the 100ft cliff after heavy rainfall last night, onto a popular beachside car park below near Poole, Dorset.

The residents were initially unaware that a gaping hole had been left in the plush £2million property's lawn - leaving them without 10ft of their garden.

Four die, one missing in
landslide

A landslide in Indonesia triggered by torrential rains has left eight people dead, destroyed 105 houses and left at least a 100 people missing, officials say.

Rescuers struggled on Saturday to reach those missing after the mudslide buried houses in a hilly district on the country's main island of Java the previous night.

Hundreds of rescuers, including police, soldiers and residents, were digging through the debris with their bare hands, shovels and hoes for the people still missing. 

They were later helped by tractors and bulldozers arriving in the district.

Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen, reporting from Jakarta, said the rescue efforts were going slowly because the area was still very unsafe.

"It has been raining non-stop for two days, and that is the reason this huge chunk of mountain came down - a whole village has been wiped away," our correspondent said.

"Around 700 rescue workers and volunteers are in the area, but work is painstakingly slow. They can only use manual equipment.

"It is very dangerous for rescue workers as landslides could happen at any minute."

Workers were using life detection equipment in the area, but had been unable to locate any survivors.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said 379 people had been taken to temporary shelters.

"Jemblung village was the most affected," he said in a statement. "Rescuers are still trying to find more victims. The challenge is that the evacuation route is also damaged by the landslide."

"At the moment eight people have been found dead and we are still looking for 100 unaccounted for."

"Conditions on the ground are pretty tough and we need heavy machines to clear the road that has been covered by the landslide."

Hundreds have been evacuated from the site in Banjarnegara, in central Java, where media footage showed a flood of mud and water cascading down a wooded mountain side.

Seasonal downpours cause frequent landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, a chain of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.

Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/12/indonesia-landsl...

Rockslide Creates New Lake in N. Vancouver BC (Dec 7)

There's now a lake where much of the Seymour River used to be.

Massive rocks the size of houses - upwards of 50,000 cubic metres - gave way and landed in the river about one kilometre north of the top of Riverside Drive.

"This was actually a significant portion of the canyon wall that was sheered as it came down," said Bill Morrell, Metro Vancouver spokesman.

It took just six hours to form a new lake that extends 850 metres north from the slide site and six metres down at its deepest point, submerging bridges and hectares of forest.

"It is what it is now. The rocks are not moving. They're just settling down a little bit but that feature will be there," said Mike Mayers, Metro Vancouver's superintendent of environmental management. "It's the largest rock fall I've heard of on the North Shore in a long time."

"It is massive. It's a wall of rock that's blocking the canyon down there. The canyon is backing up slowly so as you go further up the river, the river is lower, but it's very deep here. It's a significant event. It's going to change the scope of the river, I believe," said resident Lara Wollitzer.

If you look at the rock down there, it looks like the whole canyon face just came down, said her friend Vanessa Iverson. And there's a whole new waterfall coming down there."

The impact is a permanent change to the geography of the North Shore. The new lake where canyons and rapids used to be has claimed at least two hectares of nearby forest, low-lying sections of the Fisherman's Trail and, as of Wednesday night, the Twin Bridge was submerged.

"We've got flooded forests. Those trees are going to die. They're going to be falling over. We have flooded trails. The water is coming up and down and up and down. We're probably going to lose a few of those. They're going to completely wash away," he said.

Metro crews are now trying to figure out how the bridge can be removed and possibly salvaged.

"We have no other option. It's a permanent feature. It's a lake, not a river and you usually put a bridge over a river," he said.

As a precaution, Metro closed all of the trailheads that lead to the Seymour River. The fences and guards should be gone by Friday but Metro is going to be stepping up efforts to keep people away from the slide site and Twin Bridges area, which remain very dangerous, Mayers said.

"There are hundreds if not thousands of trees that are under water. They're coming down all the time. The trail is underwater," he said. "We're going to be putting in place very permanent closures of that very impacted area."

The slide has also likely changed the Seymour River's viability as salmon habitat Mayers said after a meeting with a representative from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. "It's effectively now a fish barrier."

Sources

http://www.theprovince.com/Rock+slide+creates+permanent+lake+North+...

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Rock+slide+creates+permanent...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/north-vancouver-rock...

http://www.nsnews.com/news/seymour-rock-slide-natural-engineers-say...

http://www.nst.com.my/node/64121

Landslide forces Tasik Kenyir road closure

19 DECEMBER 2014 @ 11:44 AM

HULU TERENGGANU: A massive landslide has forced the closure of the Tasik Kenyir road about 30km from Kampung Basung onThursday evening.

The incident started at about 5pm but became worst by 9pm forcing a complete closure of the road that lead to Felda Aring and Gua Musang.

A contractor identified as Chan who is involved with the construction of the second Kenyir dam said he could not return to the site as the road was blocked.

"I had to turn back. I was told that workers at the site could not return home and neither could they go to Aring because there was another landslide some distance from the construction site," he said.

A visit at the site showed the road was covered by loose earth, boulders and fallen timber.

The hill was still unstable as loud cracks could be heard from 20 metres away.

14 killed, 750,000 affected in Sri Lanka floods, mudslides

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-12-26/news/574205...

COLOMBO, Dec 26 (PTI) At least 14 people have been killed and 750,000 affected in Sri Lanka due to floods and mudslides caused by heavy rains across the country in the past three days as the air force deployed helicopters for rescue operations in the central hills today.

"At least 14 people are dead while 11 remain missing in Badulla," police said.

Helicopters were deployed after flash floods caused mudslides and several roads were rendered impassable due to incessant rains.

The worst affected was Rilpola town in the central hill district of Badulla where five people were killed as mounds of earth fell on homes.

The Disaster Management Centre said the number of affected people has gone up to about 750,000 while 17 of 25 administrative districts have been affected.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has formed a relief committee for victims manned by commanders of government forces.

Sri Lanka Railways said all train services from capital Colombo to the central hill areas of Kandy, Badulla and Matale were cancelled due to the severe weather conditions.

The Meteorological Department said that low pressure has increased into a depression located just off the southeast coast.

Strong winds up to 60 kph are expected and people have been asked to stay away from coastal areas.

At least 38 people were killed in October when mudslides buried homes of tea plantation workers in the country's central hills.

Philippines: Five dead in Seniang-landslide in Leyte

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/397089/news/nation/five-dead-i...

Three Bodies Retrieved from SW China Landslide (Jan 4)

Three have been confirmed dead after a landslide covered an expressway in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Three bodies were pulled from a car buried by the landslide and the search team continue to pick their way through the 80,000 cubic meters of debris in Erlang village.

The landslide occurred at 3:40 p.m. Sunday at a section in Xishui County, blocking the expressway that links Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, to Zunyi City in Guizhou.

More than 700 have been mobilized for the rescue efforts.

Sources

http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/01/05/3941s859890.htm

http://news.now.com/home

Landslides Wreak Havoc in Washington State (Jan 6)

A building collapses into the Wallace River near Gold Bar, Washington.

A landslide in the town of Hoquiam crushed and uprooted several homes, stranding up to 300 people in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Joe Lester, who lives on Queets Avenue where most damage occurred, said police came before dawn to warn them with sirens.

“They were announcing over the PA system, ‘everybody evacuate Queets Avenue. The hillside is coming down.’”

Mac Najar and his friend left one of the houses just 10 minutes before a landslide knocked the home into the street.

“I was telling him, ‘you need to pack your things fast, if you’re  leaving.’ Because I could hear the cliff moving. You can see it moving,” Najar said.

Along Queets Avenue in Hoquiam, five homes were hit by a mudslide knocking them off their foundations. But only one had people in them. Sisters Brenda Catlin and Kittie Carter live together.

"At five o'clock in the morning we heard the ground break loose and it was like a freight train," Carter said. Catlin,

Her sister recounted a similar sound.

"I heard a horrible thunderous noise and my bed started moving across the room," Carter said. "And when it hit the house it shook the house forward and threw me into a wall, and then things were falling on top of me."

With the house crumbling around them, Carter realized her sister was trapped in her room so she rammed the door and busted it open.

"I'd have died before I left her in there," Carter said.

They and their dogs made it out alive. Catlin commented on her sister's actions to save her.

"I'm very grateful, I'm very happy." Carter, "We are a miracle because I don't know how we got out other than sheer will."

Another landslide blocked the access to the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Hoquiam, preventing 200-300 people from entering or exiting their homes along the bluff.

In Aberdeen, just a few miles from Hoquiam, firefighters rescued an elderly woman and her dog trapped in her crushed house by cutting a hole in the roof.

It's hard to believe anyone survived the smashing of her Aberdeen home by a wall of mud coming down the hillside, but Gayle Christner did. She was in her rocking chair Monday morning when the slide hit.

"And I was sitting there... BOOM... It threw me out of the rocker onto my head on the floor," Christner said.

It was just her and her dog, Caesar, trapped inside the house.

"I was under my rocker, that big heavy rocker, and then my couch was on top of that and I couldn't get out," she said. "And I thought 'what am I going to do?'"

The only thing she could do was yell for help, but rescuers couldn't get in. So a firefighter and a police officer went through the roof to save the woman.

"And they cut a hole in the ceiling and the fireman lifted me up and took me out. I tell you I'm so thankful," Christner said. "It wasn't my time to go. I guess God has other things for me to do."

There are also reports that a section of a road in Aberdeen sank and slid down a hill, cutting off residents in the northwest area of the city.

The Washington State Patrol has been deployed and is reporting many parts of southwest Washington are experiencing road closures due to landslides and flooding.

By Tuesday morning, police had begun to evacuate Beacon Hill residents along a narrow logging road, cautioning that the hillside could still be unstable and that the neighborhood might remain cut off for a few more days.

Sources

http://news.yahoo.com/mudslide-traps-hundreds-in-washington-neighbo...

http://q13fox.com/2015/01/05/elderly-woman-dog-trapped-in-house-by-...

http://globalnews.ca/news/1756246/watch-mudslide-knocks-washington-...

http://mynorthwest.com/11/2681390/Flooding-mudslides-widespread-acr...

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Residents-escape-mudslide-It-was...

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/video-landslide-swee...

Landslide creates new lake in Yukon's Kluane National Park

Geologists say seismic activity in southwest Yukon was the likely cause of a landslide in Kluane National Park and Reserve last year that dammed a creek and formed a new lake.

The landslide blocked Vulcan Creek, a tributary of Slims River that flows into Kluane Lake near the Tachäl Dhäl Visitor Centre.

The new lake was discovered in September by an off-duty parks employee. Sean Pociuk was hiking up Vulcan Creek when he noticed a blockage up ahead. When he got closer and saw the landslide, he says he could tell it had happened recently.  

"There were bits of pieces of earth still falling down, like little chunks," Pociuk says.

He says he could also see permafrost sticking out of the ground. 

Craig McKinnon, Kluane's manager of resource conservation, says landslides aren't often recorded in the park because they aren't always seen.  

"In my 25-year career, this is the first that I've been aware of," McKinnon says.

The exact trigger for this landslide isn't known but Panya Lipovsky, a surficial geologist with the Yukon Geological Survey, says earthquake activity has weakened bedrock in the Kluane area over time.

"It's one of the most seismically active regions in the Yukon," Lipovsky says. "(The slide) occurred very close to the Duke River fault, which is probably the most active fault."

The Duke River fault runs under the St. Elias Mountains, roughly parallel to Kluane Lake.

Lipovsky estimates the Vulcan Creek slide happened between mid-August and mid-September. While there were a few earthquakes larger than magnitude four that occurred in the area earlier in the summer, she says there weren't any significant earthquakes during that period. 

Parks staff visited the site in the fall.

"The lake that was formed was fairly substantial," says McKinnon, describing it as about 350 metres long and 80 metres wide. 

The lake is several kilometres above the Slim's East trail, which McKinnon says receives about 40 hikers a year. He says there have been no area closures so far, but Parks Canada will continue monitoring the area in the spring. 

He advises visitors not to hike up Vulcan Creek or linger on the alluvial fan on the Slim's East trail.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/landslide-creates-new-lake-in-y...

Extra £3million for landslide protection on A83

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/457452/extra-3m...

An extra £3million has been announced to deal with landslides at the Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll.

The Scottish Government investment will be added to the £9million that has already been spent around the Rest and Be Thankful in recent years to improve resilience and to help keep local communities connected in the event of landslides.

The hill pass on the A83 Tarbet to Campbeltown road has been blighted by landslides for seven years.

An emergency diversion route along the Old Military Road at the Rest has been opened to save traffic from having to make a 60-mile diversion when there has been a slide.

Transport Minister Derek Mackay made the announcement about the new funding today(wed) at the latest meeting of the A83 Task Force in Arrochar during an update on how work on the A83 Route Study is progressing.

The extra money will be used to take forward landslide mitigation work in Glen Kinglas and at Strone Point corner.

Immense Landslide Blocks River in India's Upper Indus Valley (Jan 18)

A major environmental disaster has unfolded in the Zanaskar valley after the side of a mountain collapsed into the Phuktal River approximately 5.5 km from Marshun, leaving a mound of earth 200 feet high and blocking 97% of the river.

The massive landslide, believed to have occurred on December 31, has created a 5 km long artificial lake upstream between Shaday Sumdo and Mar-Shun in the Kargil district within the cold desert of Ladakh.

Authorities have advised people living in four villages to vacate as there is a danger the artificial lake may submerge these areas.

"It is a very big river which flows very fast. People living in four villages have been advised to leave", said Rajesh Basotra, sub divisional magistrate, Zanaskar.

"We fear it might burst suddenly, causing havoc to villagers in the low-lying areas," explained Skalzang Wangyal Gara, Executive Councilor of Tourism and Zanskar Affairs of the LAHDC.

The area is inaccessible and not even a helicopter can land there.

The landslide was first noticed when two hydroelectric projects – Nimoo Bazga and Chutak between Zanskar and Kargil showed a considerable reduction in water flow.

Official figures reveal that the river discharge was 50 cubic meters per second (cmps) on December 17 which dropped to 40 cmps some days later and ebbed to 15 cmps in early January.

"There is road connectivity only up to 40 km from Padam while the distance to Marshun is 90 km. We have held meetings with the army, BRO and mechanical engineers and formed a committee to ascertain the blockade", said Mohammad Sadiq Sheikh, district development commissioner Kargil.

Authorities have also asked the experts to find out the reasons for landslides and formation of the lake.

"We cannot say off hand whether it is because of the global warming."

The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) has also imposed a blanket ban on hiking the famous Chadar frozen river walk due to this sudden landslide.

The Chadar ice trek is one of the most sought-after winter treks of the subcontinent and a popular commercial product for tour operators.

The word Chadar means a white sheet in Hindi. In winter, the Zanskar river in the upper Indus valley in Ladakh freezes, resembling a white sheet, and walking along it becomes the only way to reach to the villages and towns on the other end.

Sources

http://www.outdoorjournal.in/news-2/ban-on-ladakhs-chadar-ice-trek-...

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-environmental-disaster-unfolds...

http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2015/01/20/zanskar-river-landsli...

Dramatic landslide video in the mountains of Dagestan, southwestern Russia (date unknown).

Land shifting going on? 

Beach washed away by freak high tide is returned to seaside town overnight

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/you-shore-beach-washed-away...

Residents in the Cornish village of Porthlevel woke one morning last week to find all the sand on their beach had disappeared, but are now celebrating after it came back

Residents in a seaside town where the entire beach was washed away by a freak high tide are celebrating - after it came BACK.

Locals in Porthleven in Cornwall were left scratching their heads after a severe high tide removed ALL the sand on their beach, and replaced with jagged rocks covered in seaweed and algae.

Photos from the scene showed promenade steps that used run down into the lush sand leading to a sharp drop onto rocks.

But locals were celebrating today after the sand was brought back - leaving them with a golden coast again.

Bare beach: The scene at Porthleven beach after the high tide washed away virtually all the sand

Councillor Andrew Wallis said the beach returned "completely naturally" confirming that "Mother Nature" put the sand back, not the council.

He said: "The beach had never had that little sand in living memory.

"This area is quite prone to long shire drift and sometimes it is more extreme than others. This time was definitely on the more extreme side."

An oceanographer from Porthleven, Alan Jorgensen, said he has never seen the level of sand so low in all his years in the village.

He said: "I've never seen it like this before. It was a bit of a surprise to be honest."

Back again: The sand has now been returned to the beach by 'Mother Nature'

Karen Wall, 42, from Porthleven, said: "I've seen it fluctuate, but just going by my mother's wisdom - she's been past that beach every day for 74 years - she's never seen anything like it."

Experts calculated that nearly a million tonnes of sand were lost off British beaches last year, with popular beaches in Newquay, Bude and Perranporth also left bare.

Estimations were that the sand - which was left languishing offshore in mountainous sandbanks and bars - would take years to return.

Costa Rica: Landslide closes kilometer 33 of Inter-American Highway South at 'Cerro de la Muerte'

http://www.ticotimes.net/2015/01/29/travel-alert-landslide-closes-k...

A 105-meter landslide at a depth of 20 meters in the early hours of Thursday has closed the Inter-American Highway South (Route 2) at kilometer 33, in an area known as Cerro de la Muerte.

Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) officials have reported that the outside lane of the road has collapsed due to water saturation from constant rains in the area, the ministry’s director of emergency situations, David Meléndez, said.

“Earlier this morning a motorcycle and a car drove into the landslide, but the motorists were unharmed,” MOPT reported in a press release Thursday morning.

MOPT officials tweeted that it could take up to a month to reopen the route.

Major Landslip Closes Railway in Central England (Feb 1)

Rail passengers will face at least a week of disruption after a major landslip left around 350,000 tonnes of earth dangerously close to a railway track.

Engineers are monitoring a stretch of a line in the Harbury area of Warwickshire after a section of land around 160m long slipped next to the railway.

The landslide has forced the closure of the line between between Leamington Spa in Warwickshre and Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Network Rail said the site was "incredibly dangerous" because the slipped earth is still moving, making it unsafe for staff to even get to it to decide what needs to be done.

The slip happened at around 3pm on Sunday. No trains were on the line at the time and it was not covered by the earth.

Engineers have been at the site on Monday to examine the extent of the damage and to see how much it is still moving.

It is not known when it will be safe to begin work there, Network Rail said, and an assessment of the area may take several days.

The landslip has occurred near Harbury Tunnel in Warwickshire, the scene of a similar incident last year.

Sources

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/1138...

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-31081630

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/Harbury-Tunne...

Landslide Causes Highway Bridge Failure in Norway (Feb 2)

A large landslide occurred south of Oslo yesterday along a four lane highway bridge that runs southwest from the capital.

The landslide destabilized pillars supporting the highway, causing massive deformation of the road deck.

The collapse stranded about 45 motorists who had to be evacuated from the relatively new highway bridge, which opened only a few years ago.

Emergency crews reported the bridge suddenly sagged at around 3:00pm local time.

Fire Chief Jarle Steinnes said the landslide under the bridge left the pillars "hanging loose in the air," the ground below them literally giving way.

"We're still hearing noises from the bridge and its shifting," Steinnes said. "If the ground moves any more, there's a danger the entire bridge will fall apart."

The highway is likely to remain closed for a long time.

Sources

http://www.ceforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=115397

http://www.newsinenglish.no/2015/02/02/bridge-collapses-on-e18-high...

Landslides hit Peruvian Amazon

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31070334

More than 3,000 families have been affected and a state of emergency has been declared.

http://www.whdh.com/story/28022410/landslide-smashes-into-wall-at-i...

Landslide smashes into wall at Italy's historic Pompeii site

MILAN (AP) - Heavy rains have provoked landslide at the ancient Italian site of Pompeii, partially collapsing a retaining wall and sending rubble into a garden at the house of Severus.

Italian officials on Wednesday said the affected area falls within the "Great Pompeii" joint EU-Italian restoration project and had been already closed to the public.

Pompeii, the ancient Roman city encased in volcanic ash near Mount Vesuvius, south of Naples, has suffered numerous collapses of walls and buildings in recent years, often due to rain. The problems have attracted widespread attention to Italy's difficulties in maintaining its cultural treasures.

Pompeii officials said firefighters were assessing the ancient site to determine areas at particular risk for collapse in a bid to shore them up.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-31147846

5 February 2015 Last updated at 12:51 ET

Dog's 'sixth sense saved' friends from Newquay landslide

Two friends who were a few feet away from a landslide say their pet dog's "sixth sense" saved their lives.

Amy Jones and Matt Smith were sitting above Great Western Beach in Newquay when their collie "sensed" danger and ran off, with the friends following.

Seconds later about 100 tonnes of debris fell from the cliff on to the access road.

No-one was injured, but the area has been sealed off and there is no access to the beach.

Ms Jones said: "She [Hazel the dog] was sniffing around the ground and then suddenly bolted off.

"Next there was a sound from the railings and they were wobbling, and then the ground collapsed and we ran and called the police."

Mr Smith added: "If it wasn't for her we would have been left leaning against the railings.

"She definitely knew something was happening."

A Cornwall Council engineer said more than 100 tonnes of material had collapsed, probably as a result of the cold and wet weather.

The engineer said it would be a significant time before the road would reopen.

Not far from the huge mudslide in Collbran, CO, the dam upstream from Kremmling, CO is failing...

“We see this continued downward movement of about an inch a year, unabated, with no evidence that it is really going to slow down,”

River district frets over flawed dam near Kremmling

Landslide closes part of old U.S. 40 near Sierra's Donner Pass

http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-sierra/landslide-closes-pa...

TRUCKEE, Calif. —The California Highway Patrol said Monday that about a 3-mile stretch of old Highway 40 near the top of the Sierra Nevada between Truckee and the Sugar Bowl ski resort will remain closed for several days because of a big rock slide.

CHP public information officer Pete Mann told The Associated Press the landslide took place Friday on the old Donner Road that runs parallel to Interstate 80 in some parts near Donner Pass.  Mann said no one was injured, but some very large granite boulders remain on the road.

Landslide Closes Golf Course in Southern British Columbia (Feb 20)

The Fauquier golf course, near Nakusp in the B.C. West Kootenay is crumbling, and sliding towards a neighbouring lake and officials aren't sure why.

Water is pooling, and there are large craters that have appeared on the course.

"It's not the first time that has happened, but in my memory, it's the worst that I've seen. There's no questions about it, it's quite a mess," Fauquier fire chief and golf club member John Banta told Daybreak South's Chris Walker.

Banta said two out of nine holes are affected — both between the lake and the now-crumbled bluff where the clubhouse sits.

Banta isn't sure what caused the damage.

Fauquier is across the lake from a mudslide that has closed Highway 6 , one kilometer west of the Needles Ferry.

Sources

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fauquier-golf-course...

https://www.facebook.com/DaybreakSouth/posts/803190113086800

http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/afghanistan-hit-by-deadly-avalanc...

• 41 MINUTES AGO FEBRUARY 26, 2015 4:10AM

AVALANCHES caused by a heavy winter snow have killed at least 124 people in north-eastern Afghanistan.

The avalanches buried homes across four northeast provinces, killing those beneath, said Mohammad Aslam Syas, the deputy director of the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority.

The province worst hit appeared to be Panjshir province, about 100km northeast of the capital, Kabul, where the avalanches destroyed or damaged around 100 homes.

Rescue teams had been dispatched to the affected areas and casualties were expected to rise, Syas said.

Snowed in ... vehicles get stuck in snow between Bamian and Daykundi provinces in Central Afghanistan. Picture: Courtesy Bilal Harwary Source: Supplied

The heavy snowstorms, which began early Tuesday, hampered rescue efforts.

Snowfall from the storm was nearly one-metre deep in places and fallen trees blocked roads in the Panjshir Valley.

Avalanches in the valley’s Dara district affected up to 600 families, according to people trying to reach the area to assist in rescue efforts.

Snowstorm ... an Afghan vegetable vendor pushes his cart during a snowstorm in Kabul, Afghanistan. Picture: AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini Source: AP

“People there have told me that two of my relatives have been killed and eight others are still under the snow,” said an Afghan who goes by the single name Sharafudin.

“My son and I are trying to get through to see if we can help find their bodies. But it will take us at least three or four hours to get there because of the snow and the road is very narrow, so we have to walk, the car can’t get through.”

Large parts of Afghanistan have been covered in snow as a major storm interrupted an otherwise mild and dry winter.

Blizzard ... Afghan women and a child walk during a snowstorm in Kabul, Afghanistan. Picture: AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini Source: AP

Afghanistan has suffered through some three decades of war since the Soviet invasion in 1979. But natural disasters such as landslides, floods and avalanches have taken a toll on a country with little infrastructure or development outside of its major cities.

In May, a massive landslide killed anywhere from 250 to 2700 people, authorities said at the time. Another landslide in 2012 killed 71 people.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1855338/watch-tourists-rescued-via-steel-...

WATCH: Tourists rescued via steel cable following landslide in Peru

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2974200/Thousands-skiers-tr...

Thousands of skiers trapped in the Alps after giant 50-tonne rock blocks main mountain road

• British holidaymakers were trapped after 50-tonne boulder blocked road
• Falling rocks cut off ski resorts Val Thorens, Les Menuires and St Martin 
• Thousands of skiers stranded in a 50-mile tailback in the French Alps
• Road was ruled too dangerous for large vehicles to use Friday morning

PUBLISHED: 04:25 EST, 1 March 2015 | UPDATED: 10:34 EST, 1 March 2015

Thousands of British holidaymakers were trapped in the French Alps after a giant 50-tonne boulder blocked a main mountain road.

Falling rocks cut off popular resorts Val Thorens, Les Menuires and St Martin and ski enthusiasts were left stranded in a 50-mile tailback.

Holiday coaches were stopped from entering and leaving the resorts in the Tarentaise Valley after authorities ruled the N117 road was too dangerous for large vehicles to use on Friday morning. 

Scroll down for video 

Tourists took to social media to vent their frustration at being stranded after the rockslide.

Mike Parkes ‏tweeted: 'Delay getting out of Alps due to 100 tonne boulder that has decided to fall into the road! #annoying This never happens to #judithchalmers.' 

Claire Zillman ‏said: '1st for everything: 'a boulder cracked the road so there's no traveling in or out of this village. Skiing in Alps was spectacular until now.'

Massive Landslide in Hautes-Pyrénées France (Feb 27)

Residents of a hamlet in the Hautes-Pyrénées looked out of their windows on Friday afternoon to find they had been cut off from the rest of the world.

A 150-metre stretch of road, the only access route serving the community in Gazost, collapsed under a massive landslide. A barn was swept almost 1km away by the rock and mud - and one house was almost taken with it.

No one was injured, but two residents in need of long-term medical attention were airlifted out by helicopter.

The hamlet has an official population of 140, but most of the properties are second homes. Only 20 people were at home at the time.

Gazost is a tiny village located high in the Hautes-Pyrenees region of France.

Sources

http://connexionfrance.com/hamlet-hautes-pyrenees-cut-off-landslide...

http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/midi-pyrenees/2015/02/28/hau...

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&a...

2 Massive River-Blocking Landslides in the High Mountains of South Asia (Mar 3)

A landslide in the Reshun Valley of district Chitral has blocked the flow of the Chitral river.

According to details, the river blockade has caused the creation of a lake that is almost 1.5 kilometers long and the water level is continuously increasing.

The water surge has reportedly started inundating the land in the region, creating panic and fear among the local community members.

Humla

Thousands of people living in the downstream villages of Karnali River Basin were put on high alert on Tuesday morning after the water volume in one of the two tributaries of the country’s longest river dropped significantly, raising fears of possible damming upstream.

Locals along with authorities in Humla district rang alarm bells after Limi Khola, which flows into the Karnali, recorded a dramatic 80 percent drop in water levels since Tuesday morning. Limi and Muchu rivers feed the Karnali.

“We have suspected damming of the river in the high altitude region along the Nepal-China border after the water level dropped significantly in the rivers flowing in Humla. However, we are yet to ascertain whether the river is blocked due to an avalanche or has frozen,” said Keshab Adhikari, deputy inspector general of police in the mid-western region, who is updating the situation in Humla.

Zanskar

A valley-blocking landslide occurred in Zanskar in northern India on December 31, 2014 is also unresolved.

Sources

http://pamirtimes.net/2015/03/04/landslide-blocks-river-flow-create...

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&...

http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2015/03/04/chitral-and-humla-1/

http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2015/01/19/zanskar-valley-1/

Isle of Wight landslip: Remaining homes evacuated

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-26238665

FEB 18th: 

Residents remaining on a crumbling road on the Isle of Wight are to evacuate their properties as the land there is becoming increasingly unstable.

Occupants of nine homes in Undercliff Drive, between Niton and St Lawrence, were advised to leave on Friday after a landslip caused the road to collapse.

A handful initially refused to leave but those remaining are expected to leave in the next 24 hours.

One evacuated bungalow has already suffered serious structural damage.

Some residents had told the council they were reluctant to leave because their insurers said moving out would invalidate their insurance.

Council deputy leader Steve Stubbings said: "We can't tell them they've got to leave but we have advised them to leave because we are concerned about continuing movement in the area.

Main road "Budva-Cetinje" slipped down to 5 meters.

Mar. 9th, 2015

Main road "Budva-Cetinje" slipped down to 5 meters, the landslide brought destruction.
While it is impossible to start rebuilding the road, the land is still fixed. The depth of the cracks - 3 m.

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&...=

http://www.charlestondailymail.com/article/20150312/DM05/150319672
Thursday, March 12, 2015

Residents urged to evacuate after Yeager Airport hillside collapses

Kanawha County emergency officials are urging residents who live in the vicinity of Yeager Airport along Barlow and Keystone drives to evacuate as the hillside in that area is beginning to collapse.

What began over the weekend as a hillside slip of the airport’s engineered fill, which surrounds its runway overrun area, has turned into a landslide, said Kanawha Deputy Emergency Manager and Fire Coordinator C.W. Sigman.

Airport officials announced Wednesday they had evacuated six people from two houses in the area after a portion of the hillside underneath the main runway’s emergency overrun area slipped about 6 feet over the weekend. The Keystone Apostolic Church has also been advised to move its services.

Airport engineers and emergency services personnel have been monitoring the situation around-the-clock. Earlier Thursday, officials closed a portion of Keystone Drive as the hill continued to slip.

Sigman said he arrived at the scene shortly before 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Within 45 minutes, he and other officials watch the hillside begin to rapidly crumble.

“We’ve had three or four major slips since we’ve been here bringing down trees and a lot of soil,” he said.

Sigman said officials have been keeping a safe distance from the area. While they don’t think the landslide has affected the Keystone Apostolic Church, they believe it’s already caused significant damage to at least one home in the area.

While only two homes had been evacuated as of Wednesday, Metro 911 is now asking all residents who live near the airport on Barlow and Keystone drives to evacuate the area.

The crumbling hillside was part of and engineered fill the airport had constructed as part of its runway expansion project, which was completed about eight years ago. About 1.5 million cubic feet of dirt was used to build up the hillside by about 270 feet.

Airport officials now say about a third of that fill has slipped downhill.

Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department Deputy T.M. Hill said the landslide has toppled several power poles, causing outages across the area. Deputy K.L. Washburn said there was natural gas bubbling up from ruptured pipe under nearby creek. Officials have notified the gas company, which initiated shutoff procedures.

Mountaineer Gas spokesman Larry Meador confirmed there was a leak in a small gas line but the problem has been contained.

“There’s no danger at this time with our gas line,” Meador said.

He said to contain the leak, the company shut off the gas supply to about 30 customers along Keystone Drive. He said crews would work to restore service to those homes later today by piping in gas from a different direction.

The Kanawha County Board of Education said three bus routes would be affected by the landslide and road closure

Several injured in north Lebanon mud flood

Mar. 12, 2015

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Mar-12/290498-se...

TRIPOLI, Lebanon: A large farm pond collapsed Thursday due to heavy rains, causing a torrent of muddy water to sweep through a north Lebanon town, injuring two people and blocking the main Hasroun-Bsharri road.

The overnight rain combined by warm wind blowing across the mountains around Hasroun caused the snow to melt down the plains, leading to the collapse of the pond and leaving several homes flooded with muddy water.

A number of vehicles along the Hasroun-Bsharri road were also washed away by the floods.

The town’s municipality, Civil Defense units, the Lebanese Red Cross and a number of bulldozers reopened the road after it had been blocked for four hours.

Charbel Touma, who was in his shop when floods carried uprooted trees and debris into his workshop, suffered a broken shoulder.

And an elderly woman identified as Loulou Bou Nassif was rescued by Civil Defense workers after her bedroom was flooded. CONTINUE...

PHOTOS FROM A LINK.

MAP. https://www.google.com.ar/search?q=HASROUN+LEBANON+MAP&biw=1020...

Update on the Yeager Airport landslide in West Virginia originally reported by Starr DiGiacomo on March 12.

Although the landslide has now ceased, the total displacements are substantially larger than originally reported.

The landslide destroyed the church at the foot of the slope and the displaced mass of the landslide has undergone significant internal deformation.

Over 1800 Landslides in Bulgaria in One Week (Mar 18)

There have been more than 1800 landslides in various parts of Bulgaria over the past week.

The worst-affected areas are Smolyan, Assenovgrad, Devin and Krichim.

In the Rhodopes, the landslide between Bachkovo and Narechen was blocking the road from Plovdiv to Smolyan for a third day on March 17. Estimates are that about 10 000 tons of rock came down with the landslide.

Cleanup work was continuing at as fast a pace as possible. The route, on the way to the winter resort of Pamporovo, usually serves about 100 000 people daily.

The fallen stones are so large that they cannot be loaded on to trucks. Special equipment has been brought in, two hydraulic hammers to break up the huge rocks.

A landslide between the villages of Gjakova and Kremenik blocked the road near Dupnitsa. There was great danger of a further collapse, Bulgarian National Television said.

A landslide closed one of the most popular tourist routes in the Zlatni Pyasutsi Natural Park near Varna. Collapsing earth and trees destroyed one of the bridges, while large boulders came down from a nearby slope.

The road to the Bulgarian village of Bankya, municipality of Trun, has been blocked by a landslide, reports on March 17 said.

A passenger train travelling from Troyan to Levski derailed on March 17 after hitting a fallen rock in the stretch between the railway stations of Albanitsa and Hlevene.

Source

http://sofiaglobe.com/2015/03/17/more-than-1800-landslides-in-bulga...

Cliff Fissure Continues to Grow in Central Texas (Mar 17)

Steve Mellgren walks along a fissure that is opening on the cliff next to his home at Lake Whitney Tuesday, March 17, 2015, in Whitney, Texas. A fissure that caused the cliff to collapse into the Central Texas lake last year appears to be widening and is threatening Mellgren's home.

Last June, a palatial home dangled above Lake Whitney before a demolition crew sent it tumbling into the water.

The same cliff fissure that caused it is still growing.

"It could go into the lake at any time and be a danger to anyone on the water," according to neighbor Steve Mellgren.

Accounts of large rock chunks falling into the lake are common. Authorities have taken steps to inform people of the danger, including installing buoys in the lake to warn boaters to keep away.

But local and federal authorities say they can do little more than monitor threats of a collapse when it occurs on private property.

Tom Hemrick, Hill County's emergency management coordinator, said boaters need to be cautious when they pull close to the cliff, noting that a fisherman several years ago was killed when an outcropping fell on him.

"We're very concerned about the safety along our lake," Hemrick said.

The fissure on Mellgren's land extends down 80 to 90 feet and does not immediately affect his home, Hemrick said, adding that it's difficult to determine whether any collapse is imminent. Complicating the situation are underwater caverns that could destabilize land above.

Mellgren said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should be more involved in finding solutions.

The agency acknowledged in a statement that the crack presents a dangerous situation and will work to maximize safety, but added that "private property owners are responsible for correcting the problem."

Robert Webb is still dealing with his own problems after his property collapsed into the water last year only three years after he purchased it. He said his homeowner's policy does not include coverage for "ground movement" and has sued his insurer.

Webb estimates it will cost more than $100,000 to remove the debris and the home's foundation, which still dangles over the cliff. Demolition crews are wary that removing the foundation will trigger another collapse.

Both homeowners say they did not anticipate erosion would be a major issue when they purchased their properties.

"I was assured by everyone there when I bought the property that there had been engineering studies done and everything was safe," Webb said.

Source

http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Widening-crack-near-Texas-c...