Extraordinary! Using a helicopter sledgehammer to clear loose rock from a cliff!

I thought I had seen everything until I saw this video! It is from Norway, showing an extraordinary method for removing a loose rock pillar from a high, steep cliff. The answer is obvious - just hang a 1.8 tonne block on a cable under the helicopter and bash the offending rock with your new sledgehammer. This must take very skillful flying. The most amazing thing is that it worked - and there is some good footage of the not - insubstantial block descending the cliff.


I really strongly advise that you take look! It is on the following Norwegian news site:

http://www.adressa.no/tv/?id=11756

The National Centre for Landslide Research, Studies and Management in India

Yesterday, the Indian National Disaster Management Authority held a press conference to announce the publication of a new set of "National Disaster Management Guidelines – Management of Landslides and Snow Avalanches". At this press conference it was also announced that the Indian Government will set up a National Centre for Landslide Research, Studies and Management, to be located in one of the most landslide-prone states (I would guess that this will either be in the north of the country or in the south-east). Unfortunately at the moment there is little information available about this centre, other than what was contained in the speech given by the Union Minister of Mines and DONER, Shri Bijoy Krishna Handique:

"The proposal for establishing a National Centre for landslides research, studies and management, as recommended by the guidelines is a welcome step in the direction of capacity building and research and development and I feel that GSI [Geological Survey of India] will be able to host this Centre as part of its core activities. Such a centre of excellence will ensure adequate national coverage, information flow, community participation, networking, and feedback with regard to landslides and snow avalanches, besides coordinating the effort of the states and other concerned central organizations. It will also foster, promote, and sustain a scientific culture in the management of slopes and landslides and encourage the transition to a culture of prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response."

Given that India has a pretty serious landslide problem that appears to be getting worse, this is a very sensible move.

I would like to get hold of a copy of the guidelines, but at the moment they are not available. However, the press conference suggested that they cover nine distinct areas:

• Landslide hazard, vulnerability, and risk assessment
• Multi-hazard conceptualisation
• Landslide remediation practice
• Research and development
• Monitoring and early warning of landslides
• Knowledge network and management
  
• Capacity building and training
• Public awareness and education
• Emergency preparedness and response
  
• Regulation and enforcement.

All of which sounds very sensible!

Nailing Jell-o to a wall...

This is a guest post from Bill Rabenaldt from California about a novel soil nail mitifation technique.

Can you nail jell-o to a wall? Not easily. Can you nail a landslide area, levee or bluff before it fails? You bet!


The valley floors around Aspen, Telluride and other resort areas in the Rockies are all but built out. Where do business and families go? The surrounding hills and mountain sides are all that is available. I’ve seen pictures of several of these homes and they are spectacular. Generally, the home theaters and pools are built into the mountain side due to local height restrictions.

How are they doing it?

For the past 10 years, I have been a member of the Pismo Beach City Council. Our community is on the Central Coast of California half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles, just north of Santa Barbara. During that time, I’ve learned a lot. As an example, our bluff has eroded faster than expected in some areas and we are in immediate danger of losing our highway, force mains and our underground utilities. Pebble Beach was another coastal community that was in danger of having their main arterial fall into the ocean. Trying to figure out how we can overcome these natural and man-made disasters has been my personal and political motivation for many years.

There are also the devastating fires we’ve had around the world. Rains are causing landslides of varying proportion. Our once stable private and public property is now vulnerable to the forces of nature. Our levee system is old and decaying.

There is a company I’ve been following for about 7 years. I first met them at the League of California Cities meeting in Sacramento. Soil Nail Launcher had a booth at the event and I was interested in how an 8 foot nail could be driven into an embankment. Over the years, I understand they have driven many nails and have protected a whole lot of property. Not only that, they have done it for less than half the cost of traditional methods.

Here is a short story you will enjoy:

In WW2, Great Britain developed a gas canister launcher to stop the enemy’s progress. A canister could be launched as far as 3 miles away. Several years ago, a company bought this equipment and all the patents and converted it to a “soil nail launcher”. 2,500 psi is built up in a chamber and launches a nail at 220 mph into the unstable soil. These nails are typically between 12 and 20 feet long with a Super Launcher that penetrates up to 80 feet. The area is then left to nature or a shotcrete surface can be applied.

If you would like to see what intrigued me the most, go to their website: www.landslidesolutions.com to see what they have accomplished. Their services are averaging half of the cost of traditional “fixes”, they were approved by the California Coastal Commission, they have recently received a GSA (General Services Administration) contract number from the Federal Government for emergency services. They can solve geotechnical, construction and public safety problems.


A recent report by the geological society on the new faults found along the infamous San Andreas Fault causes serious doubt as to the earlier government findings of “acceptable standards” for construction, land use issues, and a host of other many other conclusions that must be reviewed. Many may need to be reconsidered and/or revised with this new information. Reinforcement may be the only logical solution.

Highway 97 update

Blast on the problem slope on Highway 97 (from CBCnews)

Attempts to deal with the slope problem on Highway 97 in Canada continue in a quietly controlled manner, and there are now some signs of success. The focus continues to be upon small blasts at the head of the slope to remove material, which is then transferred to the toe to support the mass and to protect the highway. The size of each blast is now reportedly 2000 cubic metres. The result of this work is that the rate of movement has slowed from over 10 mm per day to 8 mm per day now. However, care is needed in interpreting these movement data as the reduction could be caused natural variation or response to another stimulus (the slope could be draining for example).

Meanwhile the road is still closed indefinitely, and Houdini the goat appears to be in good health!