Midwest Flooding – Collection of Links
Geologic Hazards
USGS Landslide Documentary Video
The USGS has a documentary on landslide video on landslide danger in the San Francisco Bay area entitled “Riding the Storm”. I think the target audience is more general than geologist or engineer, but it is still interesting. The bullet points from the USGS site:
- A catastrophic 1982 rainstorm triggered 18,000 landslides in the Bay Area, claiming 25 lives and causing $66 million in property damage
- The combination of steep slopes, weak rocks, and intense winter storms make Bay Area uplands an ideal setting for landslides
- Landslides include both swift, potentially deadly debris flows and slower, but destructive deepseated slides
- Learn what USGS scientists have discovered about landslide dynamics and which slopes are most susceptible to sliding
- Hear the devastating stories of Bay Area residents affected by landslides and learn to recognize the danger signs
Click through to view the trailer and for links to download the full video. (Image credit: USGS)
Failures
Coal Mining Company Ordered to pay $21M for Causing Crack in Pennsylvania Dam
In July of 2005, cracks began forming in the concrete dam that created Duke Lake in Ryerson Station State Park in Pennsylvania that required officials to drain the 62-acre lake. The state’s Department of Environmental […]
Available Resources
USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer
Esri announced earlier this summer that they were making over 175,000 historical maps from the USGS available online. The maps are available to anyone to view online using their web map viewer. Or ArcGIS online […]