3Qs: An engineer's breakdown of a landslide
Monday, March 31, 2014 - 07:30
in Earth & Climate
On March 22, a hillside collapsed near Oso, Wash., causing a 1,500-foot wide mudslide in what has been dubbed a "high-risk area" and which claimed at least two dozen lives. A mudslide, a subset of the larger category of landslides, occurs when rain has increased the water content of the soil and rock to the point where it is a highly viscous fluid, according to Tom Sheahan, professor and senior associate dean for academic affairs in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Here, Sheahan breaks down the anatomy of slides and offers potential preventative measures.