Re: [californiadisasters] Landslide Danger in Bay Area High

Unlike explosives*, if you feel a landslide you're in trouble. I'd much
rather be on ground that is NOT moving.

---------
* There's a saying among people who work with explosives: "If you hear the
blast, you're okay."

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kylie Johanson" <kyliejohanson@yahoo.com>
To: <californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: <kyliejohanson@yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 9:48 AM
Subject: Re: [californiadisasters] Landslide Danger in Bay Area High

Stay on the ground so you'll be able to feel it coming if one happens.

________________________________
From: Kim Noyes <kimnoyes@gmail.com>
To: CaliforniaDisasters <californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Fri, May 27, 2011 12:08:58 PM
Subject: [californiadisasters] Landslide Danger in Bay Area High

Landslide danger in Bay Area high, new map reveals
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff WriterSan Francisco Chronicle
Friday, May 20, 2011
Communities in the mountainous areas of the Bay Area, including much of
Marin
County, are in more danger than other places in the state of being leveled
by a
catastrophic landslide, the California Geological Survey revealed Thursday.

The map of California's most landslide-prone areas is an attempt by the
Geological Survey to determine the most vulnerable spots in the event of an
epic
superstorm, known as an ARk storm, which scientists warned about earlier
this
year.

"The goal in this was to develop a scenario for a major storm," said Chris
Wills, the Geological Survey's supervising geologist. "We felt it was
important
to get this basic information out so people can look at what are the most
susceptible areas."
The map is the most detailed analysis of landslides that has ever been
compiled
in California. It shows that the North Coast between Sonoma County and
Oregon
and the Coast Range between San Francisco and Los Angeles are the most
susceptible areas in the state. About two-thirds of Marin and Sonoma
counties
are categorized as high-hazard areas. The Santa Cruz Mountains and the East
Bay
hills are also highly susceptible to landslides, according to the map.
Mendocino, Humboldt, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties also have large
swaths
of land that could be termed high-hazard zones.

The map analyzed the rock, soil and steepness of the terrain in the
locations of
57,000 historic landslides that had been compiled in a database. The
steepest
areas with the most crumbly rock and loosest soil got the worst ratings,
Wills
said.
"The hills all the way around the bay have significant landslide potential,"
Wills said. "There are a number of areas in the East Bay and Marin County
and
down on the Peninsula where there are communities dating back to the 1920s.
These are fairly high-population areas with older homes built at a time when
landslides weren't recognized and considered in development."
Landslides kill from 25 to 50 people and cause more than $2 billion in
damage in
the United States every year. More than 100 Californians have been killed by
debris flows during the past 25 years.

The last fatal landslide in California occurred in Mill Valley in 2006 when
a
fast-moving wall of mud buried a 76-year-old landscape architect behind his
home. Ten people were killed, 14 were injured and 31 homes were destroyed by
a
30-foot wall of mud in Ventura County in 2005.

View entire article here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/19/MN8C1JIE3N.DTL#i
xzz1NWuyk0mv

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