Landslide Tracking Using Social Media

September 9, 2022 rockman Geologic Hazards Comments Off on Landslide Tracking Using Social Media
Earthquake-induced landslide in Japan in April 2016
The site of a large, earthquake-induced landslide is seen in Minamiaso, Kumamoto Prefecture, on April 16, 2016 (Mainichi)

Some clever researchers have devised an algorithm to collect information on landslides occurring around the world by analyzing social media posts. They use a variety of search terms to flag a post as being potentially related to landslides, then they use artificial intelligence to analyze imagery to determine if it is a landslide event and to scrape relevant information, including location data. The Landslide Blog has more on this and a link to the paper by Catherine Pennington from the BGS and a team of international collaborators.

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Landslide Occurs in Residential La Jolla California

October 4, 2007 rockman Geologic Hazards Comments Off on Landslide Occurs in Residential La Jolla California

A landslide occured about 9am PT yesterday in a residential neighborhood of La Jolla, just north of San Diego. No injuries have been reported, but estimates are that 2,500 people are without either power or gas because of toppled power lines and ruptured gas lines. The Soledad Mountain Road is currently impassable. I’ll update this post as more information becomes available. In the mean time, check out some video and a  location map after the break.

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Geologic Hazards

Rockslide Closes I-40 in Western North Carolina

November 6, 2009 rockman Geologic Hazards Comments Off on Rockslide Closes I-40 in Western North Carolina

rockslide_north_carolina_i40

A massive rockslide closed a busy interstate route last week near the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in Pigeon River Gorge. This area has had landslide problems in the past. In 1997 a rockslide in the same area closed the freeway for approximately 3 months. (Photo from Landslides Under a Microscope Blog, original source not cited)

I have yet to see volume estimates, but The Charlotte Observer quoted a highway patrol officer who was at the scene:

He said the roadway is covered by a gigantic mound of debris, from pebbles up to house-sized boulders. The pile is 40 to 50 feet high, Williamson estimated, and hundreds of feet long.

More info and video after the break. […]