This is a schematic design of a proposed Tsunami Evacuation Building (TEB). Photo courtesy of Yumei Wang, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.
Press Releases

Tsunami evacuation buildings: another way to save lives in the Pacific Northwest

This is a schematic design of a proposed Tsunami Evacuation Building (TEB). Photo courtesy of Yumei Wang, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Boulder, CO, USA – Some time soon, a powerful earthquake will trigger a massive tsunami that will flood the Pacific Northwest, destroying homes and threatening the lives of tens of thousands of people, says Yumei Wang, a geotechnical engineer at the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries in Portland. [Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]

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naches_landslide
Geologic Hazards

Nile Landslide Destroys Large Stretch of Washington SR 410

naches_landslideA massive landslide has destroyed at least a quarter-mile of State Route 410 in Washington State, about 10 miles from Naches in Yakima County. It has also damaged about 12 structures including residential homes and quarry buildings and diverted the Naches River. The media has been referring to it as the Naches Slide, but the personnel from the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Earth Resources who have began investigating the slide as well as WSDOT are calling it the Nile Landslide. (Photo by WAStateDNR-DoGaER)

Click through for photos and videos. For more info on the slide, check out the Sliding Thought Blog, an unofficial blog by Isabelle Sarikhan of the WAStateDNR – Division of Geology and Earth Resources “aka” the Washington Geologic Survey. She’s been actively investigating the slide along with some colleagues.

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Bentley Logo
Press Releases

Bentley Adds Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Capabilities Through Acquisition of gINT Software

Acquisition of Leader in Geotechnical Data Management Includes gINT Enterprise for Lifecycle Interoperability of Subsurface Data

Bentley LogoCHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ — Be Inspired: Infrastructure Best Practices Symposium and Awards — Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for the infrastructure that sustains our world, today announced, at this invitation-only gathering of top users from around the globe, that it has acquired gINT Software. Headquartered in Santa Rosa, Calif., gINT Software has been a leader in geotechnical and geoenvironmental products since its founding in 1986. The company’s newest product, gINT Enterprise, maximizes the value of centrally managed subsurface data through multi-project reporting and dramatically extended querying power. Offering a powerful and efficient solution for transportation operations, engineering consultancies, plants, campuses, and state and federal agencies with vast quantities of geotechnical data, gINT Enterprise facilitates the valuable reuse of subsurface mapping information to better serve civil, structural, geotechnical, and environmental information processes for owner-operators.

[Editor] Disclosure: gINT Software is the original premier sponsor of GeoPrac.net. Click through for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]

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chilliwack_bc_landslide_neighborhood
Geologic Hazards

City of Chilliwack, British Columbia to Pay $18M for Up to 42 Homes On Landslide

chilliwack_bc_landslide_neighborhood The Chilliwack Times reports that the City of Chilliwack will pay 80% of the assessed home value for up to 42 homes in an Eastern Hillside subdivision that are located on a slow moving landslide. The issue was first noticed in 2001 and several homes have had significant damage, but most are currently undamaged. The City denies any responsibility, but it’s legal counsel recommended a settlement. (Photo by Paul J. Henderson, Chilliwack Times)

Normally the geotechnical engineer for the subdivision would be held accountable. But apparently the slip surface is located 30-m below grade, much deeper than borings for a typical investigation for a subdivision. I wonder if there were any geologists consulted? Click through for a Google map view of the area and you can do your own armchair photogeology quarterbacking! Your heart does go out to the people losing their homes, they had no idea. But it could be worse, they could be in La Jolla and be getting squat.

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No Picture
Weekend CUP

Weekend CUP October 12, 2009

More images of the earthquake-triggered landslides in Sumatra NAVTEQ(R) Maps Integrated With ESRI Software and Services Showcased at the 2009 ESRI Latin American User Conference – Demoed on a Trimble Yuma tablet rugged tablet computer […]

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Miscellaneous

Happy Earth Science Week – Oct 11-17

This week is Earth Science Week sponsored by the American Geological Institute. The theme for this year according to EarthScienceWeek.org is “Understanding Climate”. Their objectives are: To engage students in discovering the Earth sciences. To […]

Soledad Mountain Road is collapsed and several homes are damaged or destroyed by a landslide on Mount Soledad in La Jolla. JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune
Failures

Judge Rules City of San Diego Not Responsible for Mt. Soledad Landslide in 2007

Soledad Mountain Road is collapsed and several homes are damaged or destroyed by a landslide on Mount Soledad in La Jolla. JOHN GIBBINS / Union-TribuneThe Mt. Soledad Landslide in a La Jolla California neighborhood destroyed 3 houses and damaged others and it also shut down Mt. Soledad Road for an entire year after it occurred in October of 2007. Residents blamed the city of San Diego, and 65 homeowners filed suit, claiming that leaking pipes caused the landslide and the City should cover damages.

Last week, a superior court judge ruled in favor of the City of San Diego. So far I have not seen anything indicating if the residents plan to appeal the ruling.

One interesting note regarding the trial, the City released an 8-minute cell phone video taken by a geotechnical engineer or drilling contractor employed by the City that showed the road cracking and buckling just prior to failure. The homeowners used the video to try to make their own case. Click through for a portion of the video and a link to the full one.

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Directiona core drilling
Miscellaneous

Directional Core Drilling for Tunneling

When you’re doing a geological investigation for a tunnel, only having vertical or traditional angled core holes only gives you a very limited picture of geology of the rock mass through which you’re going to […]