REMEMBERING 2O10

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REMEMBERING 2O10S LANDSLIDES Rain-triggered,
earthquake-triggered, hurricane-triggered, and
wildfire-exacerbated landslides impacted people
in communities around the world.
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster
Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA
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2010THE YEAR OF RECORD AND NEAR-RECORD
NATURAL DISASTERS

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IMPACTED NATIONS

• Haiti, Madeira (Portugal), USA (California)
  Brazil, Peru, China, Taiwan, ), Mexico, Central
  America (Guatemala, Nicaragua),

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SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010

• Hundreds killed and injured.
• Homes damaged, and destroyed.
• Cars damaged and destroyed.

• Lives and livelihoods of thousands adversely
  affected.
• Medical care needs of evacuees and displaced
  persons increased sharply

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SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010 (Continued)

• Infrastructure (roads, bridges) damaged and
  destroyed.
• Emergency assistance slowed.

• Hundreds of millions in uninsured or
  self-insured economic losses.

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BASIC PHYSICS OF LANDSLIDES

• Planet Earths Restlessness (Because of Slopes
  and Gravity) Causes
• Landslides

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LANDSLIDES

• NATURAL PHENOMENA THAT OCCUR WITH OR WITHOUT
  HUMAN ACTIVITY

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LANDSLIDES

• Falls, Topples, Slides, Spreads, Flows

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LANDSLIDE HAZARD

• Landslides encompass all categories of
  gravity-related slope failures in Earth
  materials.

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SLOPES

• Slopes are the most common landforms.
• Although they appear stable and static, slopes
  are actually dynamic, evolving systems.

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SLOPES

• Material is constantly moving on slopes at rates
  varying from imperceptible creep to thundering
  avalanches and rock falls moving at high
  velocities.

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THE COMBINATION OF WINTER STORMS, HEAVY RAINFALL,
FLASH FLOODS AND THE RESIDUAL EFFECTS OF PAST
WILDFIRES, EARTHQUAKES, HURRICANES AND TYPHOONS,
TREE CLEARING, AND URBANIZATION IS INCREASING
LANDSLIDE RISK EVERYWHERE.
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PHENOMENA THAT TRIGGER LANDSLIDES

• Gravity slope failures are triggered by
  earthquake ground shaking and excessive
  precipitation
• The slope does not need to be very steep for a
  landslide to occur.

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LANDSLIDES

• HAITI
• MACHU PICCHU
• SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
• MADEIRA (Portugal)
• RIO DE JANEIRO

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LANDSLIDES

• TAIWAN
• CENTRAL AMERICA
• CHINA
• Mexico

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M7.0 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES HAITI

• THE WESTERN HEMISPHERES POOREST NATION WITH 8 IN
  10 AT POVERTY LEVEL HIT HARD!!
• 453 p.m. JANUARY 12, 2010

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THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE AND THE CARIBBEAN PLATE
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PORT AU PRINCE 1.8 MILLION IN A NATION OF NINE
MILLION
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EARTHQUAKE-TRIGGERED LANDSLIDE
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EARTHQUAKE-TRIGGERED LANDSLIDE
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RAIN AND MUDSLIDES IN MACHU PICCHU

• 2,500 TOURISTS STRANDED
• JANUARY 28, 2010

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On January 28, 2010, rain and mudflows
devastated the homes of thousands of Peruvians
living in the vicinity of Machu Picchu and
created havoc for tourists visiting Machu Picchu
and the Peruvian authorities.
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MACHU PICCHU
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Peruvian authorities used helicopters to
airlift some of the foreign tourists trapped by
rain and mudslides that killed seven people
visiting the famed Inca ruins.
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MUDFLOWS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAFEB 6, 2010

• THE INTERSECTION OF HEAVY RAINFALL IN FIRST
  WINTER STORM OF 2010 AND BURNED OUT AREAS FROM
  WILDFIRES OF 2009 INCREASED RISK

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FACT MUDSLIDES INCREASE AFTER WILDFIRES
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LA CONCHITA, CA
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MUDSLIDES IN LA CONCHITA, CA JAN 13, 2010
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MUDSLIDES IN LA CONCHITA, CA
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CARS TRAPPED IN FLASH FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES
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CARS TRAPPED IN MUDSLIDES
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MUDSLIDES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
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ANOTHER VIEW
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SHOVELING MUD
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As the first storm of the 2010 season moved into
Southern California, the National Weather Service
issued flash-flood watches and mudflow warnings
for wildfire- burn zones in mountain areas from
Santa Barbara to San Bernardino counties.
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This storm tapped into subtropical moisture,
giving it the potential to bring moderate to
heavy rain and create significant hazards of
flash flooding and debris flows, especially in
the 2009 burn areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura and
Los Angeles counties.
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WILDFIRE-BURN AREAS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO MUDFLOWS
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SANDBAGS FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST FLOODING
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K-RAILS FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST MUDFLOWS
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FLASH FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES IN THE MADEIRA
ISLANDS, PORTUGAL

• AT LEAST 42 DEAD
• FEBRUARY 20-21, 2010

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LOCATION OF MADEIRA
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WHAT HAPPENED The worst storm to hit Madeira
since 1993 lashed the south of the Atlantic Ocean
island, including the capital, Funchal, Saturday,
turning some streets into torrents of mud, water
and debris.
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WHAT HAPPENED (continued) The flash floods were
so powerful they carved paths down mountains and
ripped through the city, churning under some
bridges and tearing others down.
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FEBRUARY 21 FLASH FLOOD
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FEBRUARY 21
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WHAT HAPPENED (continued) Funchals residents
and visitors had to contend with a lack of fresh
water as a result of destroyed infrastructure.
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FEBRUARY 21
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FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES PARALYZE BRAZIL

• WORST IN 50 YEARS
• APRIL 7, 2010

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The worst rains in Rios history triggered about
200 mudslides, destroying homes in hillside
community slums, killing as many as 200 people,
injuring hundreds more, and leaving thousands
without shelter.
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WIDESPREAD INUNDATION
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RIO DE JANEIRO
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CITY OF NITEROI--RIO DE JANEIRO AREA
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FEBRUARY 25 RIO DE JANIERO, BRAZIL
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BRAZIL JANUARY 1, 2010
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10,000 homes, mostly in the slums where about a
fifth of Rio's people live, often in shacks that
are vulnerable to heavy rains, were severely
damaged by mudslides
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SEARCH AND RESCUE
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LANDSLIDES IN TAIWAN

• EXACERBATED BY A M6.5 EARTHQUAKE AND RAIN
• APRIL 26, 2010

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LOCATION
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LANDSLIDE
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SEARCH AND RESCUE
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TROPICAL STORM AGATHA TRIGGERS LANDSLIDES IN
CENTRAL AMERICA

• EXACERBATED BY PROLONGED RAINFALL
• MAY 29, 2010

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Over 140 landslides were triggered in Guatemala
and Nicaragua.
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VICTIMS OF LANDSLIDES GUATEMALA
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LANDSLIDE IN ZHONQU COUNTY, CHINA

• Over 700 dead, hundreds injured, and over 1,000
  missing
• Midnight - Saturday, August 7, 2010

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A massive landslide triggered by heavy rainfall
in Zhouqu County set in motion the side of a
mountain, that damaged, toppled, and buried
buildings and their sleeping residents on
Sunday, August 8th.
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An estimated 1.8 million cubic meters of mud and
debris flattened three villages in Zhouqu In
Yueyuan village, not a single structure was left
undamaged after the landslides occurred.
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MUDSLIDE ZHONGU, CHINA
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DAMAGED BUILDINGS
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In addition, rock, mud, and debris from the
landslide blocked the Bailong River which passes
through the area, creating a 3km (2-mile) long
temporary lake.
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Water in the temporary lake overflowed, sending
waves of water, mud and rocks crashing down on
the town, inundating low-lying neighborhoods with
up to 4 meters of water.
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FLOODED STREETS
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EXPLOSIONS RELEASED THE BLOCKED BAILONG RIVER
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PRIME MINISTER WEN JIABAO CALLED FOR ACTION AUG
8TH
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The Chinese army deployed 5,300 soldiers with 150
vehicles, 20 speed boats and four helicopters,
and rescued 1,240 people from the landslide mud
and debris, or from the tops of buildings where
survivors had taken refuge..
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RESCUE WORKERS
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Over a meter of mud in many parts of the impacted
area and rugged terrain made it almost impossible
for rescue teams to bring in vital heavy
equipment and specialists needed for search and
rescue operations.
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A SURVIVOR AWAITING RESCUE
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SEARCH AND RESCUE
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A SUCCESSFUL RESCUE
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A SUCCESSFUL RESCUE
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Streams of refugees left the area, carrying a
few possessions they had managed to salvage
others carrying the bodies of loved ones.
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Power lines were down in two-thirds of the county
.
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Thousands of homeless residents were forced to
live in the open, or in the rubble of unsafe
buildings, as dry, stable areas were not
available to establish temporary shelters using
tents provided by the Government..
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At least 45,000 people were evacuated, including
the residents of downstream towns thought to be
at risk from new landslides that may be triggered
in conjunction with the continuing rainfall..
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RAIN-TRIGGERED MUDSLIDE BURIES HUNDREDS IN SANTA
MARIA TLAHUITOLTEPEC, STATE OF OAXACA, MEXICO

• SEPTEMBER, 28, 2010

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LOCATION
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LOCATION
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The landslide, triggered by heavy rain fall from
Hurricane Karl and tropical storm Matthew, buried
hundreds in Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, MX,
around 4 am as they slept.
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TROPICAL STORM MATTHEW SEPT 24, 2010
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Matthew moved northward towards Mexico's
Yucatan Peninsula with heavy rain fall.
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During 2010, Oaxaca and some other parts of
Mexico endured their worst rainy season on
record, with heavy flooding and mudslides forcing
thousands from their homes.
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Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, famous for its
colonial buildings and archaeological sites, is
the home of the indigenous Mixe culture, which is
considered one of Mexico's poorest of the poor.
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A VIEW OF THE LANDSLIDE
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A VIEW OF THE LANDSLIDE
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The slide dragged several houses some 400 m down
the hillside along with cars, livestock and light
poles.
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Bad weather and roads damaged by earlier
mudslides kept emergency rescue teams from
reaching the residents of Santa Maria
Tlahuitoltepec
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It is not clear how many homes were damaged or
buried in the slide and how many were killed.