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PARTNERSHIPS FOR REDUCING LANDSLIDE RISK Assessment of the National Landslide H~ Ingram ~ A' O+ Boy' ~= ~VIILly~LIV! ~ ~~! "Logy Committee on the Review of the National Landslide Hazards Mitigation Strategy Board on Earth Sciences and Resources Division on Earth and Life Studies NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS Washington, D.C. www.nap.edu

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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS · 500 Fifth Street, N.W. · Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Govern- ing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineer- ing, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appro- priate balance. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government. Supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, under assistance Award No. 01HQAG0193. International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-309-09140-3 (Book) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-309-52995-6 (PDF) Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Intemet http://www.nap.edu Cover: Image courtesy of David A. Feary; cover designed by Michele de la Menardiere. Copyright 2004 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal govern- ment on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its mem- bers, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advis- ing the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal gov- ernment. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineer- ing communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www. nationa l-academies.org

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COMMITTEE ON THE REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL LANDSLIDE HAZARDS MITIGATION STRATEGY I. FREEMAN GILBERT, Chair, University of California, San Diego WILLIAM E. DIETRICH, University of California, Berkeley I. MICHAEL DUNCAN, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg PHILIP E. LAMOREAUX, P.E. LaMoreaux & Associates, Inc., Tuscaloosa, Alabama GEORGE G. MADER, Spangle Associates, Portola Valley, California WILLIAM F. MARCUSON III, W.F. Marcuson III & Associates, Inc., Vicksburg, Mississippi PETER I. MAY, University of Washington, Seattle NORBERT R. MORGENSTERN, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada rANE PREUSS, GeoEngineers, Inc., Redmond, Washington A. KEITH TURNER, Colorado School of Mines, Golden T. LESLIE YOUD, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah National Research Council Staff DAVID A. FEARY, Study Director rENNIFER T. ESTEP, Administrative Associate SHANNON L. RUDDY, Senior Project Assistant (until 1/03) RADHIKA S. CHARI Senior Project Assistant (from 2/03) v

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BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES GEORGE M. HORNBERGER, Chair, University of Virginia, Charlottesville TILL BANFIELD, University of California, Berkeley STEVEN R. BOHLEN, Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Washington, D.C. VICKI I. COWART, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Denver, Colorado DAVID L. DILCHER, University of Florida, Gainesville ADAM M. DZIEWONSKI, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts WILLIAM L. GRAF, University of South Carolina, Columbia RHEA L. GRAHAM, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, Albuquerque V. RAMA MURTHY, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis DIANNE R. NIELSON, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Salt Lake City RAYMOND A. PRICE, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada MARK SCHAEFER, NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia BILLIE L. TURNER II, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts THOMAS I. WILBANKS, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee National Research Council Staff ANTHONY R. DE SOUZA, Director PAUL CUTLER, Senior Program Officer TAMARA L. DICKINSON, Senior Program Officer DAVID A. FEARY, Senior Program Officer ANNE M. LINN, Senior Program Officer RONALD F. ABLER, Senior Scholar KRISTEN L. KRAPF, Program Officer LISA M. VANDEMARK, Program Officer YVONNE FORSBERGH, Research Assistant MONICA LIPSCOMB, Research Assistant rENNIFER T. ESTEP, Administrative Associate VERNA J. BOWEN, Administrative Assistant RADHIKA S. CHARI, Senior Project Assistant KAREN IMHOF, Senior Project Assistant TERESIA K. WILMORE, Project Assistant WINFIELD SWANSON, Technical Editor Al

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Preface . . . the mountain falls and crumbles away and the rock is removed from its place . . . Job 14:18 Almost every part of the world is subject to landslides. Wherever there are mountains, or even hills, there have been, there are, and there will continue to be landslides. Landslides are a component of the erosion process, a continued leveling of the surface features of the earth both on land and beneath the sea that are thrust up by the colli- sion of tectonic plates. Landscapes are shaped by such erosional processes, most dramatically by landslides. Henry David Thoreau remarked, "The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time." However, there are times when the finest workers are not very gentle, when the natural sculptor seems to be angry and impatient, flinging large pieces from the emerging landscape, the sooner to finish the work. When people are in the way, the natural process is termed a catastrophe. Its imminence constitutes a natural hazard to mankind. As the world's population has increased rapidly over the past century and as people move onto previously uninhabited land, there has been a greater interaction between humans and landslides, often to the detriment of humans. lust as people who live in earthquake zones, and who do not understand earthquakes, rebuild with the same erroneous methods of the past, so do people who challenge nature by building and living in harm's . . v''

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vIll PREFACE way in landslide zones without understanding that the control of nature is, in the long run, not possible. Thus, this report is not about the prevention of landslides. What it is about is improved understanding of the hazards posed by landslides, of the role that improved education and the dissemination of information can play, and about the mitigation of such hazards through improved building and inspection codes and through improved engineering prac- tice. The identification and assessment of landslide hazards and the evalu- ation of the risks associated with acts of mitigation are discussed in this report from two points of view. First is the objective point of view of the natural sciences, and second is the subjective point of view that people have to understand the bargain they make with nature when they choose to live in rugged terrain. Freeman Gilbert Chair

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Acknowledgments The committee would like to express its appreciation to the many individuals who provided briefings and other information during the information-gathering process: Karen Berry, Steve Briggs, Peter Bobrowsky, Scott Burns, Vicki Cowart, Jerome V. DeGraff, Christopher Doyle, ferry Fish, Richard Fragaszy, Paula Gori, Edwin Harp, Rex Hickling, Jerry Higgins, Sanjay Jeer, Jeffrey Keaton, Pat Leahy, Paul Logan, Mike Long, Steve Olson, John Pallister, Donald Plotkin, Robert Schuster, Barry Siel, Lawson Smith (deceased), David Steensen, Joan Van Velsor, Yumei Wang, Jeffrey Weissel, Gerald Wieczorek, and William Ypsilantis. The committee particularly acknowledges the provision of information dealing with the International Consortium on Landslides and other international activities by Robert Schuster and also wishes to thank Yumei Wang, Scott Burns, and their colleagues for providing the committee with first-hand information on landslides in the Columbia Gorge area. This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with pro- cedures approved by the National Research Council's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its pub- lished report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confi- dential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: IX

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x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Genevieve Atwood, Earth Science Education, Salt Lake City, Utah Peter T. Bobrowsky, Canada Landslide Program, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario Steve Briggs, Community Development and Planning Department, Cincinnati, Ohio Derek H. Cornforth, Cornforth Consultants, Portland, Oregon Vicki I. Cowart, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Denver, Colorado David Noe, Colorado Geological Survey, Denver Raymond A. Price, Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering (emeritus), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada Wilson H. Tang, Department of Civil Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon George A. Thompson, Department of Geophysics (emeritus), Stanford University, California Although the reviewers listed above have provided many construc- tive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the con- clusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by William L. Fisher, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas, Austin. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for ensuring that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

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Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Proposal for a National Strategy, 7 1.2 Committee Charge and Scope of Study, 8 1.3 Socioeconomic Impacts of Landslides, 10 1.4 Environmental Consequences of Landslides, 16 1.5 The Concept of Landslide Mitigation, 18 1.6 Overview of National Strategy Priorities, 21 2 RESEARCH PRIORITIES IN LANDSLIDE SCIENCE 3 LANDSLIDE MAPPING AND MONITORING 3.1 Susceptibility and Hazard Mapping, 34 3.2 New Remote-Sensing Technologies, 38 3.3 The Role of Landslide Hazard Zonation Maps, 44 3.4 Landslide Monitoring Techniques, 47 4 LANDSLIDE LOSS AND RISK ASSESSMENT 4.1 Loss Assessment, 52 4.2 Risk Assessment, 54 Xl 1 6 26 31 51

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X11 5 LOSS REDUCTION STRATEGIES 5.1 Implementation of Loss Reduction Measures, 61 5.2 Additional Loss Reduction Measures, 64 5.3 Information Collection, Interpretation, Dissemination, and Archiving, 67 6 PUBLIC AWARENESS, EDUCATION, AND CAPACITY BUILDING 6.1 Education for Decision Makers, 74 6.2 Assistance for Professionals, 76 6.3 Learning from Landslides, 79 7 A NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP PLAN- ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND COORDINATION 7.1 Partnership Principles, 82 7.2 Recommended Partnerships, 83 7.3 Overview of Federal, State, Local, and Nongovernmental Roles, 88 7.4 Federal Agency Roles, 88 7.5 State and Local Government Roles, 95 7.6 Role of Nongovernmental Organizations, 97 8 FUNDING PRIORITIES FOR A NATIONAL PROGRAM- REALIZING THE VISION 8.1 Federal Funding Levels, 98 8.2 Funding Priorities, 99 8.3 Funding Allocations, 101 9 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES APPENDIXES A Case Studies A Widespread Problem B Committee Biographies C Acronyms CONTENTS 60 73 81 98 103 107 117 127 130