This week we studied the effects that mass wasting has on the earths land as well as our chosen country. While it is true that landslides are caused by gravities ability to manipulate soil and rocks such as the slope of a specific area. That is typically true for El Salvador because it has 20 different volcanoes in the country that sit at high elevations and could very well be a hazard to multiple communities. I was able to find a couple of articles that covered Hurricane Ida in 2009. The Hurricane triggered debris from the San Vicente volcano to hit and destroy part of the city of Verapaz. The death toll of 16 residents and 47 reported missing was one of the largest mass wasting's that the country has ever seen. Furthermore, the most catastrophic landslide that the country has ever seen was in the city of Las Colinas in Santa Tecla, El Salvador. It was triggered by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, that only lasted 30 seconds. The reported death toll was close to 1,000 residents with almost the same missing. Here is an aerial picture of the debris that covered the neighborhood of Las Colinas.
Thankfully, the Salvadorian government has acknowledged that they are very susceptible to mass wasting in the region and have taken safety measures to prevent against future natural hazards. The country has implemented a Community-based disaster risk management program in place to be able to mitigate future events. Specifically, the project MARLAH is aimed at raising awareness, assessing the hazard at hand, installing early warning systems, creating vulnerability and hazard maps and developing emergency plans. Overall, I think that this is a great way to prevent future loss of life.
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This was such an interesting post, Luis. The death toll from the Las Colinas landslide was catastrophic, and the possibility of additional slides triggered by volcanoes, hurricanes and earthquakes is frightening. El Salvador appears to be well aware of the possibility of mass wasting and has taken steps to mitigate future natural disasters. I wonder if that's why the 2009 incident had far fewer casualties. Thank you for this!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea how many volcanoes El Salvador had and found this post to be quite informative! That is good that the country acknowledges the mass wasting in the country and started the MARLAH project. I agree that, that would be able to help in prevention.
ReplyDeleteThat is great to hear!!! I am so glad that your country sees the mass wasting problems as a threat and is doing what it can to help lessen the damage and number of lives taken from such an event.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Luis... The picture that you uploaded is very impressive. I can’t imagine the force of the landslide. Glad that the government is involved. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteCrazy picture! As many others, your country has the impact of extreme weather so landslides are not uncommon...you'll be busy in the next weeks! (:
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