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

[Howard]

Hikers Tumble and Buried Under Cliff Collapse, One Killed (Mar 21)

One person is dead and another suffered critical injuries after a cliff collapsed at Point Reyes National Seashore Saturday evening north of San Francisco.

The two hikers were walking along Bear Valley Trail when they reached the end of the trail at the Arch Rock overlook.

The cliff unexpectedly gave way and they fell an estimated 70 feet below, buried under rubble and rock.

One person was pronounced deceased at the scene and the other was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

A fissure appeared at the "tip" of the overlook on Wednesday and park officials immediately put signs up at the trailhead and visitor center to warn visitors they could not hike to the end of the trail.

Sources

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Hiker-dies-another-injured-af...

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/03/21/hikers-tumble-70-feet-o...

http://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/woman-dies-bluff-collapse-arch-...

[Howard]

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...

[Howard]

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...

[Howard]

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.

[jorge namour]

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...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

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

 

[Khan]

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&...=

[Mark]

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.

[Howard]

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/

[Howard]

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...