What Would a Large Earthquake Do to Downtown L.A.?

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)

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A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Japan on 7/16/07, killing 9 and injuring more than 150. The hardest hit areas were near the town of Kashiwazaki, northwest of Tokyo. It triggered mudslides in the town that was already effected by a Typhoon several days before. One of the most newsworthy things about this earthquake is the damage to and minor leakage of radioactive waste and coolant from the world’s largest nuclear power plant in Kashiwazaki. Read on for links and video. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi, AFP – Getty Images)

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Our colleagues over at Geoengineer.org put together a great video compiling some of the more interesting stories of 2016 for all of us geotechnical nerds. Check it out! [Source: Geoengineer.org YouTube Channel. Image: YouTube]