Geologic Hazards

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Geologic Hazards

ASCE: Cease and Desist over Video Spoof

November 19, 2007 rockman Comments Off on ASCE: Cease and Desist over Video Spoof

The American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE sent a cease and desist letter to the owner of the Levees.Org website notifying them to remove a video spoof of its post-Katrina levee inspection. Of course, through the wonders of the internet, Levees.org removed it from YouTube, but someone else posted it again. And because of all the fuss, it’s more popular than it would have been otherwise with over 16,000 views at the time of this post. Click through to watch it.

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Geologic Hazards

Anniversary of Loma Prieta Earthquake – USGS Warns of Hayward Fault

November 1, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Anniversary of Loma Prieta Earthquake – USGS Warns of Hayward Fault

October 17 was the 18th anniversary of the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake that struck the Bay area.  But a recent story by the Bay Area’s local ABC affiliate, ABC7, chose to focus on another earthquake, a 1868 earthquake of about the same magnitude that occurred on the Hayward Fault. According to the USGS, the Hayward Fault has a return period of about 140-years and  "It’s the most heavily urbanized fault in the U.S. and it’s just waiting to go off…" Next year will be the 140-th anniversary of the last earthquake on the Hayward Fault. At some point it has the potential to be a very bad earthquake there. More after the break. (Photo by sanbeiji)

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Geologic Hazards

CA Licensed Professionals Needed in Evacuation Areas

October 29, 2007 rockman Comments Off on CA Licensed Professionals Needed in Evacuation Areas

A call for volunteers has been made on behalf of Governor Schwarzenegger by way of the California Department of Consumer Affairs website as reported by AEG. They are looking for professionals registered by the California Boards of Geology and Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors as well as a number of other boards. Read on for the full announcement. 

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Geologic Hazards

Soledad Mountain Road Landslide Update

October 7, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Soledad Mountain Road Landslide Update

Residents of approximately 75 of the 111 homes evacuated after the slide have been allowed back into their homes.  The City of San Diego is not wasting any time in determining the cause of the slide. The first of three 100-ft deep exploration shafts was excavated on Friday, and a Forensic Geologist from a firm hired by the City was sent down the hole to observe geology conditions and to locate the actual slip surface. Also, claims of leaking City water and/or sewer pipes prior to the failure have begun to surface. More details in the full post. (Photo by NELVIN CEPEDA / San Diego Union-Tribune)

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Geologic Hazards

Landslide Occurs in Residential La Jolla California

October 4, 2007 rockman 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

Utah Geologic Hazards Group Finishes Report

September 28, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Utah Geologic Hazards Group Finishes Report

As we mentioned in a previous post, the State of Utah had experienced several slope failures in approved, permitted subdivisions. Those failures prompted the governor to form the Geologic Hazards Working Group (GHWG) to evaluate […]

Geologic Hazards

Devil’s Slide Tunnel Construction Kicks Off

September 19, 2007 rockman 1

On September 17, CALTRANS and Kiewit Pacific held a "tunnel excavation celebration" to kick off the start of tunnel construction on The Devil’s Slide Tunnels project on California State Route 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) in San Mateo County between the town of Montara to the south and the city of Pacifica to the north. The project involves the creation of a separated two-lane road, one lane in each direction. This road will pass through twin tunnels, over twin bridges and connect with an existing non-separated two-lane road at each end. The new road will be approximately 6,500 feet long, made up of the roughly 4,000-foot twin tunnels, the 1,500-foot north approach road (which includes the 1000-foot parallel bridges), and the 1,000-foot south approach road. Upon completion, the new road will bypass geologically unstable portions of existing Route 1, sections of roadway subject to lengthy closures, high maintenance costs over the years, and risk of permanent failure. Thanks Geology.com for the heads up. [Read on for more background, photos, maps, and movies!] (Images by CALTRANS)

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