Rockfall Protection Videos from G.T.S.

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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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The rock at left travelled nearly a mile down the slope and picked up some significant velocity before impacting a house, hitting the back wall and damaging the ceiling before dropping through the floor into the garage and damaging the garage door. In an often-overlook advantage of the current financial crisis, the house was currently in foreclosure and therefore not occupied at the time of the damage. Read on for links, more info and a map of the location so you can view the terrain. (Photo by Provo Fire Department by way of Utah Geologic Survey)

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