Presented By: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Smith Lecture: Gravity Never Sleeps: Recent Landslides in Colorado and Washington State
Jonathan Godt, USGS Landslides Hazards Program
Recent landslides in Colorado and Washington State highlight the role these natural processes play in shaping mountain environments and their sometimes tragic consequences. On 22 March 2014 a large, rapidly moving landslide destroyed the community of Steelhead Haven, near Oso, Washington, killing 43 people. The slide displaced about 8 million m3 of sand and silt from a 200-m high glacial terrace destroying 40 homes and burying more than 1.0 km of State Route 530. The unusually long travel distance and apparent speed of the slide led to the great loss of life and destruction. Landslide science was critical in supporting the response to the disaster. Landslide monitoring, process understanding, pre- and post-event high-resolution digital topography, and numerical simulations were used to advise search operations.
In Colorado, nearly continuous rainfall during the second week of September 2013 caused widespread landslides and flooding in the northern Front Range. The combination of landslides and flooding was responsible for eight fatalities and caused extensive damage to buildings, highways, and infrastructure. Three fatalities were attributed a fast moving landslide or debris flow. A review of historical records in Colorado indicates that this type of event, with widespread landslides and flooding occurring over a very large region, in such a short period of time, is rare.
Reducing losses from landslides requires understanding of where and when landslides occur, and when they occur, how big and how far and fast they will travel. Recent advances provide a framework for landslide prediction; however, large gaps remain, most critically in the quantitative characterization of the subsurface.
Dr. Jonathan Godt is the Coordinator of the USGS Landslide Hazards Program. He has been with the USGS for 18 years and has studied landslide hazards in the western U.S. and abroad. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Purdue University, and a M.S. in Environmental Science and Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Colorado. He has co-authored 75 scientific papers and reports on landslide topics, including a recently published textbook on the subject.
In Colorado, nearly continuous rainfall during the second week of September 2013 caused widespread landslides and flooding in the northern Front Range. The combination of landslides and flooding was responsible for eight fatalities and caused extensive damage to buildings, highways, and infrastructure. Three fatalities were attributed a fast moving landslide or debris flow. A review of historical records in Colorado indicates that this type of event, with widespread landslides and flooding occurring over a very large region, in such a short period of time, is rare.
Reducing losses from landslides requires understanding of where and when landslides occur, and when they occur, how big and how far and fast they will travel. Recent advances provide a framework for landslide prediction; however, large gaps remain, most critically in the quantitative characterization of the subsurface.
Dr. Jonathan Godt is the Coordinator of the USGS Landslide Hazards Program. He has been with the USGS for 18 years and has studied landslide hazards in the western U.S. and abroad. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Purdue University, and a M.S. in Environmental Science and Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Colorado. He has co-authored 75 scientific papers and reports on landslide topics, including a recently published textbook on the subject.
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