Logan Canal Landslide
Geologic Hazards

Council to visit site of Logan, Utah canal landslide

Various stakeholders are meeting at the site of the fatal landslide to discuss the various options for replacing or realigning the portion of the canal that failed. [Source: HJNews.com. Image: Landslides Under a Microscope Blog]

Soledad Mountain Road is collapsed and several homes are damaged or destroyed by a landslide on Mount Soledad in La Jolla. JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune
Failures

Judge Rules City of San Diego Not Responsible for Mt. Soledad Landslide in 2007

Soledad Mountain Road is collapsed and several homes are damaged or destroyed by a landslide on Mount Soledad in La Jolla. JOHN GIBBINS / Union-TribuneThe 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.

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A building at the Lotus Riverside complex in Shanghai’s Minhang district collapsed
Failures

13-Story Tower Topples Over in Shanghai

A building at the Lotus Riverside complex in Shanghai’s Minhang district collapsed A 13-story apartment tower in the Lotus Riverside Development toppled over almost intact in Shanghai on June 26. The apartment building was still under construction and one worker was killed. According to the Shanghai Daily, there was an excavation for an underground parking garage immediately next to the failed structure. From the photos and video, it appeared that the building fell away from the excavation. More info and video after the break. (Imaginechina via AP Images via Wall Street Journal)

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Failures

Video: Freeport Maine Culvert Failure and Road Collapse

imageA colleague of mine sent me an amazing video of a culvert failure and subsequent road collapse in Freeport Maine during a storm. The culvert was unable to accommodate the high volume of water, and it was backing up behind the roadway embankment like a dam, and spilling out onto the roadway. In a span of about 3 minutes, the entire section of road collapsed and was washed downstream. I don’t know the exact date the video was taken, but it appears to be in August of 2008. Click through for the video.

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Destruction from the collapse of a subway tunnel in Cologne, Germany which swallowed Cologne's Historical Archive
Failures

Subway Tunnel Collapse in Cologne Germany

Destruction from the collapse of a subway tunnel in Cologne, Germany which swallowed Cologne's Historical ArchiveEarly indications are that a collapse of a subway tunnel station still under construction was to blame for the sinkhole that destroyed Cologne’s Historical Archive, home to documents dating back to 922 A.D. More info after the break. (Photo by DPA via Spiegel Online)

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