Why do mudslides happen in california

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Where and Why California Mudslides Happen November 30, Sandy Mudslides are a common occurrence throughout much of California in the winter months. The City of Angels is not immune to this disaster. So, What Are They? Why Do They Happen? Where Do They Happen? How Can You Protect Yourself? To recap, you should: Understand what regions are prone to experiencing mudslides Have a supply of food, water, and other necessities to take with you Know the location of any family memorabilia you need to bring Remain calm These tips will ensure you evacuate quickly and with everything you need.

It was triggered by heavy rains and preceded by a wildfire in the nearby Angeles National Forest. The places most at risk for mudslides are at canyon bottoms, stream channels, outlets of canyons and slopes excavated for buildings. If you live in those areas, be on the lookout for immediate signs of a pending mudslide, including tilting trees or sudden changes in rivers, especially after rain.

For example, in , Camarillo Springs in California drew up detailed evacuation plans, cleaned out debris basins and installed steel cable netting to catch large rocks at the base of slopes. The best way to protect yourself against mudslides is to stay informed. Learn whether you live in a mudslide-prone area by checking with local authorities or governments to see if one has ever happened where you live. Develop emergency and evacuation plans.

Sign up for emergency alerts , especially if you live in a mudslide-prone area. During intense rainfall, turn on the radio and TV so you can watch for warnings so you can quickly leave the area.

If a landslide occurs, stay away from the affected area because additional flooding or slides can happen, even after the mudslide seems to be over.

Never enter the path of the mudslide and report any broken utility lines. Daily 11 Today. Safety and Preparedness. By Simone M. Scully May 04, Fire burns in the hills behind a home at the Thomas Fire on December 16, in Montecito, California. Mangled cars in Montecito after a major storm hit the burn area Tuesday January 9, in Montecito, California, triggering a mudslide. A vehicle affected by a mudslide October 16, in Telachapi, California.

A sandal is left behind where a Mini Cooper is buried up to the windows in a mudslide on Elizabeth Lake Road October 16, following heavy rain. One driver said there was a little bit of water on the road, then a wall of mud surrounded them. Paradise, a town that was devastated by the Camp Fire, remains under mandatory evacuation orders as the rains pour down. Slopes stripped bare and desiccated by wildfires are more prone to these post-fire debris flows, a kind of landslide where rushing water picks up the remnants of burnt homes, trees, dirt, rocks, and even cars.

For people living in risky areas, it will be key to listen to emergency managers, and follow evacuation orders. The way to survive a landslide is not to be in its way, says geophysicist and disaster researcher Mika McKinnon. Anytime we have fires, we end up with landslides during the next big rains.

This happens for a whole bunch of different reasons. Landslide is the big, overarching term. The only term bigger than that is mass movement , the generic term for anything falling downhill. The most common ways to divide up landslides are by material, and by mechanism. The material is the stuff that is moving: is it rock, is it debris, mud, dirt, soil, earth, snow? And the mechanism is how the landslide moved: does it fall, topple, rotate, flow?

So a mudslide would be mud and water sliding down a slope, slipping, kind of a blob. A debris flow would be a bunch of debris and water flowing like a fluid as opposed to a debris avalanche , where you have less water and it moves more like a snow avalanche does. You can mix between the material and the mechanism to come up with a name for different types of landslides, but the word landslide covers all of those.

When a fire comes through, it burns a lot of material, and this creates debris. It also kills the trees, chars the ground and produces a lot of ash. Ash is very fine, and very slick, which makes it a perfect sliding surface. It lubricates geologic materials.

That water skims across the surface instead and picks up more debris, and then you get a debris flow. The steeper the slope, the more likely you are to have landslides. It also depends on the material. Hard rock is more stable and loose materials — sands, dirts, soils — are weaker. If there are a lot of plants, plants tend to hold things together with their roots.

They cling and weave together the materials.