Mass Wasting in Jamaica
The type of mass wasting that Jamaica is most affected by is landslides.
What is a landslide? A landslide is a general term used to describe a down or outward movement of slope forming materials due to gravity pulling the landform. It also includes little or no sliding such as the fall of rocks and debris or flow of debris and mud.
What are the four types of Landslides?
Falls: a mass detaches from a steep slope or cliff and descends by free-fall, bounding, or rolling.
Topples: a mass tilts or rotates forward as a unit.
Slides: a mass displaces on one or more recognizable surfaces, which may be curved or planar.
Flows: a mass moves downslope with a fluid motion. A significant amount of water may or may not be part of the mass.
How has landslides affected Jamaica?
Landslides and flooding account for majority of Jamaica's natural disasters and continuously pose a threat to lives and their properties. "Jamaica’s mountainous terrain, its geology, its fractured, altered and deeply weathered bedrock, its abundance of poorly consolidated colluvial sediments on hill slopes, its high precipitation due to its geographic location in belt of tropical storms, its geophysical location astride the seismically active plate boundary fault zone, all combine to make the island particularly susceptible to landslides"(Rafi Ahmad).
How can Jamaica prepare?
According to Weather Underground, these are some tips to get prepared incase of a Landslide:
- Be conscious of landslide and debris-flow risk when buying a home or property
- Make a disaster supply kit and have a family emergency plan
- Follow proper land-use procedures: avoid building near steep slopes, close to mountain edges, near drainage ways or along natural erosion valleys
- Become familiar with the land around you; learn whether debris flows have occurred in your area by contacting local officials — slopes where debris flows have occurred in the past are likely to experience them in the future
- Get a ground assessment of your property
- Consult a professional for advice on appropriate preventative measures for your home or business, such as flexible pipe fittings, which can better resist breakage
- Protect your property by planting ground cover on slopes and building retaining walls
- In mudflow areas, build channels or deflection walls to direct the flow around buildings, but be aware, if you build walls to divert debris flow and the flow lands on a neighbor's property, you may be liable for damages
- If you are at risk from a landslide talk to your insurance agent — debris flow may be covered by flood insurance policies from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
I really liked how you displayed all of your information! It was helpful that you broke down the 4 different landslides. Similarly, China has a lot of landslides too, I think it has a lot to do with the unusual weather patterns.
ReplyDeleteWhat the
DeleteVery nice research, like most of the tropical countries, heavy rains and saturated soil are a problem...it looks like there are enough preparedness measures to address this hazard.
ReplyDelete