The new route for Washington State Route 410 will go around the toe of the Nile Valley landslide. The 2009 Nile Valley landslide blocked the highway and diverted the Naches River. The DOT selected the route out of 3 possible options. The other two options were to remove the slide and keep the same alignment, or to make permanent the temporary detour that goes through a normally quiet rural neighborhood. [Source: KIMA CBS 29. Image: WSDOT]
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Judge Rules City of San Diego Not Responsible for Mt. Soledad Landslide in 2007
The 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.
Landslide / Mudslide in Logan Utah
A landslide in Logan Utah caused a portion of a canal to fail, causing a second mudslide. Three people, a mother and two children, were believed to be buried when the mud and debris hit their home. Rescue efforts were halted fairly quickly because of concern regarding the stability of the hillside. So far I have not read any reports that the bodies have been recovered. Map, Videos and more after the break. (Photo by Mike Terry, Deseret News, hat tip to Landslides Under a Microscope Blog)
Teenage Girl Buried Alive in Beach Bluff Landslide
A teenage girl strolling on the beach in Pacifica, California was buried alive by a landslide. She was buried up to her chest, and a passer-by dug her out with his bare hands while more soil and rock fell around them. Story at KTVU San Francisco. See a nice oblique aerial photo of the beach prior to the landslide here. Those slopes don’t look particularly stable to me but what do I know?