MSGID: 1:317/3 64129b6f   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    East Coast, US, landslide impacts from Puerto Rico to Vermont and in   
   between    
      
     Date:   
         March 15, 2023   
     Source:   
         Geological Society of America   
     Summary:   
         In the U.S., we may often think of landslides as primarily a   
         West Coast problem, mostly plaguing the mountainous terrain of   
         California, Oregon, and Washington. New research highlights the   
         major impacts of landslides on the U.S. East Coast and what is   
         being done to save lives and deal with the damages.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   In the U.S., we may often think of landslides as primarily a West Coast   
   problem, mostly plaguing the mountainous terrain of California, Oregon,   
   and Washington. A technical session at the upcoming GSA 2023 Joint   
   Southeastern & Northeastern Section Meeting in Reston, Virginia, USA,   
   will highlight the major impacts of landslides on the U.S. East Coast   
   and what is being done to save lives and deal with the damages.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Landslides are projected to be a growing concern as climate change   
   produces more extreme rainfall events that can destabilize slopes and   
   trigger these events. Research presented in the session will include   
   investigations of landslide hazards in Puerto Rico, Vermont, Pennsylvania,   
   Michigan, Tennessee, West Virginia, and southern and central Appalachia.   
      
   Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria in 2017, researchers documented more   
   than 70,000 landslides on the island of Puerto Rico. Geologist Stephen   
   Hughes at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagu"ez saw a gap in the   
   monitoring and forecasting of landslides on the island, and to fill   
   that gap he started a research and outreach program: Storm-induced   
   Landslide Impact Dynamics on Environment and Society in Puerto Rico   
   (SLIDES-PR). Through partnership with the U.S.   
      
   Geological Survey, SLIDES-PR has developed a landslide susceptibility   
   map for the island and installed 14 real-time monitoring stations on   
   landslide-prone slopes.   
      
   "These are shallow, relatively small landslides, but extremely   
   widespread. It doesn't matter that it's a small landslide if it comes   
   through your house," says Hughes.   
      
   The monitoring stations measure soil moisture, pore pressure, and   
   groundwater level, collecting data every five minutes and sending it back   
   to the university every hour. The monitoring network has already saved   
   lives. During Hurricane Fiona in 2022, Hughes was able to use real-time   
   monitoring to warn the town of Naguabo that the soil moisture had crossed   
   the threshold for imminent slope failure, prompting evacuation before   
   a debris flow buried a home.   
      
   In addition to monitoring and forecasting, the SLIDES-PR program has   
   developed guides for residents to understand the warning signs for   
   landslides, what human activities can promote them, and ways to prepare   
   and cope after they happen. At the conference, Anishka Ruiz-Perea will   
   share the science and risk communication work done by SLIDES-PR , and   
   Kiara Cunillera-Cote will present on the development of forecasting   
   thresholds using the data from monitoring stations.   
      
   Vermont In 2019, a hillside in Vermont's Mt. Mansfield State Forest   
   failed and generated a 12.5-acre landslide with a volume equivalent to   
   80 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The material formed a dam in Cotton   
   Brook, which eventually carried the influx of sediment to the nearby   
   Waterbury Reservoir.   
      
   Smuggler's Notch, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the   
   state, is a 1,000-foot high mountain gap that has seen major rock slides   
   over several decades, sometimes dropping boulders the size of school   
   buses onto the road below.   
      
   "We are convinced, just like many others, that as climate change gets   
   more extreme, we will generate more landslides and more sediment systems,"   
   explains Jonathan Kim of the Vermont Geological Survey, who will present   
   on the many approaches taken to assess, monitor and mitigate landslide   
   hazards in Vermont.   
      
   The Vermont Geological Survey has been collaborating with the University   
   of Vermont (Burlington) and Norwich University (Northfield, Vermont)   
   to establish comprehensive tools for monitoring and understanding the   
   risk of landslides in the state. These investigations led to a Federal   
   Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) buyout of a parcel containing a   
   large landslide that posed a threat of additional slope failures in   
   1999. Rainfall and flooding during Hurricane Irene in 2011 led to slope   
   instability throughout the state, prompting the development of statewide   
   landslide protocols and the formation of a statewide landslide database   
   that can be contributed to by landslide experts and residents.   
      
   Pennsylvania The greater Pittsburgh region experienced record rainfall in   
   February-April of 2018 that triggered more than 200 landslides. Built on   
   clay-rich sedimentary rocks and with steep topography from downcutting   
   by river erosion, southwestern Pennsylvania is one of the more   
   landslide-prone regions in the country. The landslides are small and   
   typically not deadly, affecting residences, roads, streams, and other   
   infrastructure. As a result of the 2018 landslides, one natural gas   
   pipeline ruptured, and the resulting explosion destroyed a house and   
   several other buildings.   
      
   "It's very clear that this was a climatically anomalous circumstance. We   
   had a hugely anomalous amount of rain in February when Pittsburgh would   
   normally be getting snow and the ground would be frozen. The ground wasn't   
   frozen, and almost all of the precipitation fell as rain. We had shallow   
   soil slides as well as deeper-seated slides that require bigger changes   
   in hydraulic conditions," explains Helen Delano of the Pennsylvania   
   Geological Survey, who will present about the record landslide year at   
   the conference.   
      
   While the scope of damage from the landslides was extensive, an   
   application for FEMA support was denied because the several months of   
   increased landslides were not deemed a single event. When considered as   
   separate events, they did not meet the threshold of damages required   
   to declare a federal disaster. Delano says the record-breaking year   
   has increased awareness at the state level of the need to prepare for   
   landslides. Clean-up from the landslides of 2018 remains ongoing.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Landslides # Natural_Disasters # Geography #   
                   Environmental_Awareness # Environmental_Policy #   
                   Global_Warming # Weather # Severe_Weather   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o San_Andreas_Fault o Gulf_Stream o Tsunami   
             o Coast o 1906_San_Francisco_earthquake o   
             Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_Mississippi o Larsen_Ice_Shelf   
             o 1993_North_American_storm_complex   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Geological_Society_of_America. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
      
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230315143852.htm   
      
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