General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNo national system to track landslide hazards
Interesting article on landslide hazards, predictions, how they can be done, why they are not ($$$).
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/No-national-system-to-track-landslide-hazards-253105211.html
Unlike the warning systems and elaborate maps that help residents and officials prepare for natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes, there's no national system to monitor slide activity and no effort underway to produce detailed nationwide landslide hazard maps.
The U.S. Geological Survey doesn't track or inventory slide areas on a national scale, despite an ambitious plan to do so more than a decade ago when Congress directed it to come up with a national strategy to reduce landslide losses. That's left states and communities to put together a patchwork of maps showing landslide hazards. In some cases, they are discovering that more buildings than previously thought are sitting on unstable ground. Even then, that information may not make its way to property owners.
Building a nationwide system is now possible with new technology, experts say, but would require spending tens of millions of dollars annually and could take more than a decade to complete with the help of states and cities. So far, however, there has been little public outcry for faster, concerted action....(more at link)
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)Difficult to predict acts of lunacy.
A HERETIC I AM
(24,380 posts)There is one fact people who buy or build houses at the base of, or on the side of mountains should keep in mind;
Gravity.
Everything high wants to get low. With a few exceptions, of course.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)anywhere there are valleys with "hills" nearby...especially in places where there are recurring fires or lots of rain.
That's really all it takes, but when you throw in clear cutting, aggressive "grading" (for new buildings)...and you are playing real estate roulette.
Many places where these things routinely occur are in rural (less regulated) areas, so no one really pays much attention until after an event
We live in a city, and when we considered putting in a front patio, we were informed that we would have to hire a geological survey to mitigate any drainage issues we might cause our neighbors because our yard is slightly elevated..
Where we live, there is almost NO rain.,, at all.,.ever...