Collapsing Terrain: Landslides / Landslips / Rockfalls / Etc.

It was interesting to note these were vacation homes and not always occupied. That's a wiser use of land in slip-prone areas. Also, I guess the thaw has moved in so this time of year would normally be most hazardous time.
 
The death toll in this latest Myanmar jade mining site landslide equals or exceeds the highest on record ...
Landslide at Myanmar jade mine kills at least 113 people

At least 113 people were killed Thursday in a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar, the government and rescue workers said, the latest in a series of deadly accidents at the sites in recent years.

A statement from the Ministry of Information gave the death toll as 116, while Khin Maung Win, chairman of the Thingaha rescue group working at the site, said the number of the dead surpassed 113. ...

A November 2015 accident also left 113 dead and was considered the country’s worst. In that case, the victims died when a 60-meter (200-foot) -high mountain of earth and waste discarded by several mines tumbled in the middle of the night, enveloping more than 70 huts below in which the miners slept.

The victims of such accidents are usually freelance miners who settle near giant mounds of discarded earth that has been excavated by heavy machinery. The freelancers who scavenge for bits of jade usually work and live at the base of the mounds of earth, which become particularly unstable during the rainy season. ...
Click to expand...

FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/8d689af35b5f65e0971b1e6b5af5b611
 
Not certain yet but it looks as if this might have been as a result of a landslide (glaciers don't usually move that fast).

Dozens of people are missing and feared dead after a glacier crashed into a dam and triggered a huge flood in northern India.

The broken dam prompted a deluge of water to pour through a valley in the state of Uttarakhand. Villages have been evacuated, but officials warned as many as 150 people may have been victims of the flooding. Video shared on social media showed the floodwater streaming through the area and causing widespread damage.

"It came very fast, there was no time to alert anyone," Sanjay Singh Rana, who lives near to the Dhauli Ganga river, told the Reuters news agency. "I felt that even we would be swept away."

At least three bodies have been found and 150 people are registered as missing, a police spokesman told the AFP news agency.
He added that "16 or 17" people were trapped inside a tunnel. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55969669
 
ramonmercado said:
Not certain yet but it looks as if this might have been as a result of a landslide (glaciers don't usually move that fast).

Dozens of people are missing and feared dead after a glacier crashed into a dam and triggered a huge flood in northern India.

The broken dam prompted a deluge of water to pour through a valley in the state of Uttarakhand. Villages have been evacuated, but officials warned as many as 150 people may have been victims of the flooding. Video shared on social media showed the floodwater streaming through the area and causing widespread damage.

"It came very fast, there was no time to alert anyone," Sanjay Singh Rana, who lives near to the Dhauli Ganga river, told the Reuters news agency. "I felt that even we would be swept away."

At least three bodies have been found and 150 people are registered as missing, a police spokesman told the AFP news agency.
He added that "16 or 17" people were trapped inside a tunnel. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55969669
Click to expand...

More on that natural disaster.

Here are three things to know about what might have caused the disaster in Uttarakhand.

1. One possible culprit was the sudden break of a glacier high in the mountains.
News reports in the immediate wake of the disaster suggested that the floodwaters were caused by the sudden overflow of a glacial lake high up in the mountain, an event called a glacial lake outburst flood.

“It’s likely too early to know what exactly happened,” says Anjal Prakash, the research director of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. Satellite images show that a section of a glacier broke off, but how that break relates to the subsequent floods is still unknown. One possibility is that the glacier was holding back a lake of meltwater, and that heavy snowfall in the region two days earlier added enough volume to the lake that the water forced its way out, breaking the glacier and surging into nearby rivers.

This scenario is certainly in line with known hazards for the region. “These mountains are very fragile,” says Prakash, who was also a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2019 special report on oceans and the cryosphere, Earth’s icy places. But, he notes, there isn’t yet much on-the-ground data to help clarify events. “The efforts are still focused on relief at the moment.”

2. A landslide may be to blame instead. ...

https://www.sciencenews.org/article...tm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest_Headlines
 
ramonmercado said:
More on that natural disaster.

Here are three things to know about what might have caused the disaster in Uttarakhand.

1. One possible culprit was the sudden break of a glacier high in the mountains.
News reports in the immediate wake of the disaster suggested that the floodwaters were caused by the sudden overflow of a glacial lake high up in the mountain, an event called a glacial lake outburst flood.

“It’s likely too early to know what exactly happened,” says Anjal Prakash, the research director of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. Satellite images show that a section of a glacier broke off, but how that break relates to the subsequent floods is still unknown. One possibility is that the glacier was holding back a lake of meltwater, and that heavy snowfall in the region two days earlier added enough volume to the lake that the water forced its way out, breaking the glacier and surging into nearby rivers.

This scenario is certainly in line with known hazards for the region. “These mountains are very fragile,” says Prakash, who was also a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2019 special report on oceans and the cryosphere, Earth’s icy places. But, he notes, there isn’t yet much on-the-ground data to help clarify events. “The efforts are still focused on relief at the moment.”

2. A landslide may be to blame instead. ...

https://www.sciencenews.org/article...tm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest_Headlines
Click to expand...

Some believe in a more sinister explanation for this disaster.

In a village in the Indian Himalayas, generations of residents have believed that nuclear devices lie buried under the snow and rocks in the towering mountains above.

So when Raini got hit by a huge flood earlier in February, villagers panicked and rumours flew that the devices had "exploded" and triggered the deluge. In reality, scientists believe, a piece of broken glacier was responsible for the flooding in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, in which more than 50 people have died.

But tell that to the people of Raini - the farming mountain village with 250 households - and many don't quite believe you. "We think that the devices could have played a role. How can a glacier simply break off in winter? We think the government should investigate and find the devices," Sangram Singh Rawat, the headman of Raini, told me.

At the heart of their fears is an intriguing tale of high-altitude espionage, involving some of the world's top climbers, radioactive material to run electronic spy systems, and spooks.

It is a story about how the US collaborated with India in the 1960s to place nuclear-powered monitoring devices across the Himalayas to spy on Chinese nuclear tests and missile firings. China had detonated its first nuclear device in 1964.

"Cold War paranoia was at its height. No plan was too outlandish, no investment too great and no means unjustified," notes Pete Takeda, a contributing editor at US's Rock and Ice Magazine, who has written extensively on the subject.

In October 1965, a group of Indian and American climbers lugged up seven plutonium capsules along with surveillance equipment - weighing some 57kgs (125 pounds) - which were meant to be placed on top of the 7,816-metre (25,643-ft) Nanda Devi, India's second highest peak, and near India's north-eastern border with China. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56102459
 
ramonmercado said:
Some believe in a more sinister explanation for this disaster.

In a village in the Indian Himalayas, generations of residents have believed that nuclear devices lie buried under the snow and rocks in the towering mountains above.

So when Raini got hit by a huge flood earlier in February, villagers panicked and rumours flew that the devices had "exploded" and triggered the deluge. In reality, scientists believe, a piece of broken glacier was responsible for the flooding in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, in which more than 50 people have died.

But tell that to the people of Raini - the farming mountain village with 250 households - and many don't quite believe you. "We think that the devices could have played a role. How can a glacier simply break off in winter? We think the government should investigate and find the devices," Sangram Singh Rawat, the headman of Raini, told me.

At the heart of their fears is an intriguing tale of high-altitude espionage, involving some of the world's top climbers, radioactive material to run electronic spy systems, and spooks.

It is a story about how the US collaborated with India in the 1960s to place nuclear-powered monitoring devices across the Himalayas to spy on Chinese nuclear tests and missile firings. China had detonated its first nuclear device in 1964.

"Cold War paranoia was at its height. No plan was too outlandish, no investment too great and no means unjustified," notes Pete Takeda, a contributing editor at US's Rock and Ice Magazine, who has written extensively on the subject.

In October 1965, a group of Indian and American climbers lugged up seven plutonium capsules along with surveillance equipment - weighing some 57kgs (125 pounds) - which were meant to be placed on top of the 7,816-metre (25,643-ft) Nanda Devi, India's second highest peak, and near India's north-eastern border with China. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56102459
Click to expand...
AFAIK, a plutonium battery would not explode like that.
It could generate enough heat to melt a hole in a glacier, though.
 
Italy landslide pushes hundreds of coffins into the sea

Hundreds of coffins tumbled from their resting place in north-west Italy when a landslide destabilised a 100-year-old cliffside cemetery on Monday.

Video showed emergency workers in boats searching for the estimated 200 coffins in the waters off Camogli, near Genoa.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56184348
 
Jurassic Coast cliff collapses in biggest UK rockfall for 60 years

People urged to keep away - more cracks apparent & further collapse likely. Could be scope for fearless fossil hunters though.

1618496530379.png
 
ramonmercado said:
More on that natural disaster.
Here are three things to know about what might have caused the disaster in Uttarakhand.
1. One possible culprit was the sudden break of a glacier high in the mountains. ...
2. A landslide may be to blame instead. ...
Click to expand...
Subsequent research indicates it was #2 - a massive landslide / avalanche from the north face of Ronti peak.
Scientists have found the origins of a mysterious, deadly flood in India

What triggered the deadly flood has been a mystery — but after amassing evidence from satellite images, seismic records and eyewitness accounts, a team of over 50 scientists now say they have solved the case.

The ultimate culprit was a massive avalanche of rock and glacier ice that tumbled 1,800 meters down a steep slope of Ronti Peak, setting off a cascade of events that led to the disaster, the researchers report online June 10 in Science.

This was no ordinary landslide, says Daniel Shugar, a geomorphologist at the University of Calgary in Canada. “This was a multi-hazard scenario where it was much more fluid and mobile than a landslide would be expected to be. It was a worst-case scenario of rock and ice and [the] height of the fall.” ...
Click to expand...
FULL STORY (With Simulation Video): https://www.sciencenews.org/article/flood-india-landslide-disaster-himalaya
 
EnolaGaia said:
Subsequent research indicates it was #2 - a massive landslide / avalanche from the north face of Ronti peak. ...
Click to expand...
The report resulting from an international research term's analysis of this incident has now been published in / by Science.

It's mind-blowing. For one thing, the root cause of the disaster was a massive chunk or shard that collapsed off Ronti Peak along with the glacial ice covering it. This photo illustrates its size and the hole it left in the mountain.

MtRontiShard.jpg

Today's BBC online article summarizes some of the major points about the event.
Chamoli disaster: 'It hit the valley floor like 15 atomic bombs'

An international group of more than 50 researchers has now published a detailed assessment of what happened. It's based on multiple data sources, from satellite imagery to field observations.

It's a sombre read that reports numbers that, to be honest, are almost beyond comprehension.

The disaster was initiated close to the top of the 6km-high Ronti Peak in the Chamoli district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. ...

A wedge of glacier-covered rock more than 500m wide and 180m thick just suddenly let go.

The team calculates almost 27 million cubic metres of material was put into a minute-long descent that at one point was in complete freefall.

To put this volume in context, it's about 10 times that of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

When the mass hit the Ronti Gad valley floor, it released the energy equivalent to 15 Hiroshima atomic bombs. ...

On impact, the fallen material immediately sprayed the surrounded hillsides with large boulders, some 10m wide; the air blast flattened 20 hectares of nearby forest. ...
Click to expand...
FULL STORY: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57446224
 
Here are the bibliographic details and abstract from the published report in Science. The full report is accessible at the link below.

A massive rock and ice avalanche caused the 2021 disaster at Chamoli, Indian Himalaya
BY D. H. SHUGAR, M. JACQUEMART, D. SHEAN, S. BHUSHAN, K. UPADHYAY, A. SATTAR, W. SCHWANGHART, et al.
Science. PUBLISHED ONLINE 10 JUN 2021
DOI: 10.1126/science.abh4455

Abstract
On 7 Feb 2021, a catastrophic mass flow descended the Ronti Gad, Rishiganga, and Dhauliganga valleys in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India, causing widespread devastation and severely damaging two hydropower projects. Over 200 people were killed or are missing. Our analysis of satellite imagery, seismic records, numerical model results, and eyewitness videos reveals that ~27x106 m3 of rock and glacier ice collapsed from the steep north face of Ronti Peak. The rock and ice avalanche rapidly transformed into an extraordinarily large and mobile debris flow that transported boulders >20 m in diameter, and scoured the valley walls up to 220 m above the valley floor. The intersection of the hazard cascade with downvalley infrastructure resulted in a disaster, which highlights key questions about adequate monitoring and sustainable development in the Himalaya as well as other remote, high-mountain environments.

FULL REPORT: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/06/09/science.abh4455
 
Caused by extremely heavy rainfall.

A huge rescue operation is under way in central Japan after a landslide hit the popular resort of Atami, killing two people and leaving 20 others missing.

Hundreds of rescuers began sweeping the hillside for survivors early on Sunday after a torrent of black mud crashed through the city a day earlier. Several houses were swept away by the mudslide, which followed heavy rain.

Atami has had more rainfall in the first three days of July than it usually sees in the whole month.

Video posted on social media on Saturday showed mud plummeting down a mountain in the prefecture of Shizuoka, weaving through the city of Atami towards the sea.

A resident said he heard a "horrible sound" and fled as the landslide engulfed everything in its path.

"We are trying our best to search for survivors as quickly as possible while carrying out the operation very carefully as it is still raining," a local official told AFP news agency.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57704967
 
A massive rock slab separated from a lake's shoreline cliff in Brazil and fell onto tourist / holiday boaters.
Brazil: rock breaks from cliff and falls on boaters, leaving at least six dead

A towering slab of rock broke from a cliff and toppled on to pleasure boaters drifting near a waterfall on a Brazilian lake on Saturday and officials said at least six people died.

Minas Gerais fire department commander Edgard Estevo told a news conference that in addition to the dead, as many as 20 people may be missing, and said officials are seeking to identify them.

Officials earlier said at least 32 people were also injured, though most had been discharged from hospitals by Saturday evening.

Video images showed a gathering of small boats moving slowly near the sheer rock cliff on Furnas Lake when a fissure appeared in the rock and a huge piece toppled directly on to at least two of the vessels. ...
Click to expand...
FULL STORY: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...d-falls-on-boaters-leaving-at-least-five-dead

At least 6 people are dead, 20 missing after a boulder crashes on 3 boats in Brazil

At least six people were killed after a massive rock fell on top of three tourist boats in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais on Saturday, state fire department officials said.

About 32 people were also injured after the boulder fell on the boats and 20 people remain missing, Brazilian state media Agência Brasil reported.

Nine people were taken to nearby hospitals while authorities investigate the incident.
The rock was loosened at Furnas Lake in Capitólio due to heavy rains, according to Romeu Zema, the governor of Minas Gerais, a landlocked state in southeastern Brazil. ...
Click to expand...
FULL STORY: https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/08/world/brazil-deaths-injuries-boulder-crashes-on-boats/index.html
 
EnolaGaia said:
A video of the Furnas Lake rockfall / cliffside collapse can be accessed at:

https://nypost.com/2022/01/08/giant-rock-dislodges-in-brazil-canyon-many-tourists-feared-dead/

This YouTube video shows the holiday crowd on the lake. Go to circa 2:41 on the video to see the collapse events.

Click to expand...
"Authorities issued warnings for tourists to stay away from waterfalls in the area just hours before the accident."
Yep, heard that many times after such incidents.
Rock slides/falls are fairly predictable - at least you can tell that an area is unstable if you are watching it.
 

Dramatic footage shows moment deadly Brazil mudslide started​


The moment heavy rain set off a deadly mudslide down a hill in the Brazilian city of Petropolis has been caught on camera.


As seen above, the footage shows how the landslide slipped down the hillside on Tuesday, with residents looking on in shock.

They stand by as a car and trees are being carried down a street by rapidly moving water and mud.

As much as 25.8 centimetres (10 inches) of rain fell within three hours, according to Rio de Janeiro state’s fire department.

The state government has confirmed 113 deaths so far.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...-shows-moment-deadly-brazil-mudslide-started/

maximus otter
 
Landslide flattens Shia shrine in Iraq.

Emergency workers in central Iraq are racing to rescue people from a Shia shrine that collapsed.

Four bodies have been pulled from the rubble so far, officials say. Earlier, they said up to eight people were believed to be trapped.
On Saturday an earth mound adjacent to the Qattarat al-Imam Ali shrine gave way as a result of moisture saturation.
The landslide hit the ceiling of the shrine which then collapsed onto visitors.
Three children have been rescued and sent hospital, emergency services say.
"Any mistake could lead to further collapses," said Abdelrahman Jawdat, a civil defence spokesman.

Working by floodlight through the night, rescue workers fought to free trapped pilgrims.
Teams are trying reach people through "small holes in the large collapsed concrete blocks", Iraqi News Agency (INA) reports.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62625308
 
A bad one.

A landslide on a motorway in southern Brazil has killed at least two people and left dozens missing.

A torrent of mud fell on to the BR-376 highway in the state of Paraná, hitting more than 21 vehicles, authorities said.

Rescue workers at the scene said bad weather and the remote location were complicating the search effort.

Firefighters are using a thermal camera to locate possible survivors. Up to 30 people are thought to still be missing.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-63817378
 
This time it's Colombia.

A landslide on a road in the province of Risaralda in western Colombia has killed at least three people and buried dozens more.

A bus full of passengers was among several vehicles buried under mud and rocks, which tumbled down a hillside following heavy rains. One of the passengers helped his wife and two children escape from the bus before he was buried and died. Rescuers are using heavy machinery to try to dislodge the mud.

The landslide happened in the early hours of Sunday morning local time on the road leading to the northern province of Chocó. Witnesses said an intercity bus, a jeep, and a motorbike had stopped on the road because of a car accident further ahead when part of the hillside collapsed on top of them. The bus is thought to have had two drivers and 25 passengers on board.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on Twitter that nine people had been rescued and more than 20 were still missing. So far, three people have been confirmed dead in the landslide, among them a young girl who is thought to have been riding on the motorbike with another person.

One of those who died inside the bus was identified as Guillermo Ibargüen. His son Andrés told Caracol News that "Dad helped me get out of the bus through a little hole".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-63859430
 
Another lethal landslide.

At least 19 people including children have been killed after a landslide hit a holiday campsite in Malaysia's Selangor state.

Families were sleeping in their tents when the landslide happened around 03:00 Friday (19:00 GMT Thursday) at a farm stay in Batang Kali township. Hundreds of rescuers spent Friday digging through mud to find survivors.

The farm's managers said at least 30 children and 51 adults were registered for an overnight stay.

Local media reported that Malaysian authorities said fourteen people were still missing, and that about 700 officials are involved in the search and rescue. The Malaysian fire department said at lest four children were among the dead.

More than 20 primary school teachers and their family members were there, according to a New Straits Times report.

Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming reported that the camping site had been operating illegally. Mr Nga also said he ordered all "high-risk" camping sites - those located along rivers, waterfalls and hillsides - across the country to be closed for seven days with immediate effect. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63995931
 
Road slides off cliff after devastating floods hit US

Footage posted on social media shows the moment a road crumbles away due to flooding infrastructure damage near Pescadero, California.


Bands of thunderstorms started Saturday in the north and spread south, with yet another atmospheric river storm following close behind Sunday.

Areas across the state of California have been hit by extreme rainfall and snow.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/01/16/watch-chunk-road-slide-cliff-flood-hit-california/

maximus otter
 
goosebumps!

I think I'd not have been standing close to the edge anyway, filming or not, but once it started to move... Is the closeness actually illusory?
 
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