Latest news with #CaliforniaDepartmentofConservation
CBS News
25-03-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
San Mateo County launches online tool showing tsunami hazard zones
San Mateo County launched its new Tsunami Hazard Area Dashboard on Monday as part of a broader effort to better prepare for future tsunamis following last December's chaotic response to a regional tsunami warning . As part of California's Tsunami Preparedness Week, the county's Department of Emergency Management unveiled an online tool that allows residents to look at geographic areas designated as tsunami hazard zones before a tsunami happens. "We cannot control emergencies, but we can control our preparedness," said District 4 Supervisor Lisa Gauthier during a press conference unveiling the dashboard. On the morning of Dec. 5, 2024, San Mateo County residents received a cellphone notification from the National Weather Service warning them of a potential tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake off the coast of Humboldt County. One hour later, the warning was canceled. The warning advised people in the tsunami hazard zone to retreat to higher ground. The tsunami hazard zone covered much of the county, including areas that were not actually at risk, according to District 3 Supervisor Ray Mueller. "Everyone in the county received a National Weather Service tsunami alert, even though not everyone was in danger," Gauthier said. The broad scope of the warning spurred many people along the coast to drive toward routes like state Highway 92 that move eastward. The influx of cars resulted in traffic jams along the few roadways that connect inland. "Many people ran to Highway 1, which is actually in the tsunami zone," Mueller said. "They got stuck in traffic when they could have just gone few blocks east." After gathering feedback from the community, the county's Department of Emergency Management identified areas of improvement to work on in preparation for future emergencies. The Tsunami Hazard Area Dashboard is one development intended to ameliorate preparedness and efficiency before and during a tsunami. The dashboard defines the exact areas in the county considered hazardous in the event of a tsunami. Specifying tsunami hazard zones minimizes the amount of people who need to evacuate, thus reducing traffic jams. The dashboard is a map of the county shaded in either green or yellow. Yellow zones, which are hazardous during tsunami, include parts of coastal towns like Half Moon Bay, Pescadero, El Granada and Pacifica. Along the San Francisco Bay, minimal portions of Burlingame, Foster City, Redwood City and East Palo Alto are also in the yellow zone. "On December 5, we heard so many stories about people who didn't know if their children were in safe locations or if their spouses were in safe locations," Mueller said. "They were traveling all over the coast in panic trying to figure out if they were safe and if who they loved were safe." The county also wanted to create its own resource since the California Department of Conservation's online dashboard crashed on Dec. 5 due to the magnitude of people trying to access the website. "People on the San Mateo County coast went to a state website to see if they were in a zone that could be impacted," Mueller said. "Because so many people were looking at that website, it actually failed ... When this event happens again in the future, should it happen again, we know that county resources will be backing that website." Other updates intended to bolster the county's preparedness for a tsunami include placing more warning signs in tsunami hazard zones. In several weeks, the county is planning to add high-low sirens to law enforcement vehicles that alert residents to evacuate during emergencies. People can sign up for SMC Alert , the county's mass notification system for communicating information during emergencies by going to the county's website and using the emergency services drop-down menu. Additional tsunami preparedness resources can be found online on the county's website, as well.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Tsunami could flood ‘sizeable areas' of coastal Los Angeles County, experts say
Officials are cautioning residents to check whether they live in a tsunami zone ahead of Tsunami Preparedness Week, and there's a grim outlook for some of coastal SoCal should worse come to worst. The California Department of Conservation has released Tsunami Hazard Area maps and data that show the risk of a tsunami for coastal communities from the Mexico border to the Oregon state line. The most recent data for L.A. County was published in 2021 and indicates that a large tsunami could flood 'sizeable areas' of Marina del Rey and Long Beach to an elevation of 15 feet, according to Rick Wilson, head of the California Geological Survey's Tsunami Program. 'Flood levels for the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach could reach elevations of 12 to 15 feet, which would inundate almost all of the land in the ports and some of the surrounding communities,' Wilson stated. 'Local officials have indicated that if both ports were shut down for one day, the economic loss to the county would be over $1 billion.' Tsunami Hazard Area maps can be viewed for Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties. To view all California counties, click here. California's Tsunami Preparedness Week is March 22 through March 30. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
What causes mudslides, and what can be done to lessen the danger?
Mudslides are dangerous torrents that are usually referred to by geologists and first responders as debris flows. They have been particularly lethal in parts of California where landscape, climate, weather and geology can combine to make them more likely. California has worked to add tools to protect against mudslides, including pinpointing hot spots, creating basins and placing nets to capture falling debris before it hits homes. Why is California prone to mudslides? See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. California has relatively young mountains from a geology standpoint, meaning much of its steep terrain is still in motion and covered in loose rocks and soil that can be sloughed off easily, especially when the ground is wet, according to geologists. Severe drought can be a problem, too. Experts say that when hard rains fall on extremely dry and hard-packed soil, it can rush downhill and pick up energy, carrying soil and debris away. And wildfires — an increasing problem across the West — can leave hillsides with little to no vegetation to hold the soil in place. What are the most vulnerable areas? The areas most at risk are on or near hillsides that have burned in recent years, with little or no vegetation left to hold soil in place. Burning vegetation and soil on a slope more than doubles the rate of water runoff, according to the California Department of Conservation, and there have been severe events over the years. On Jan. 9, 2018, intense rain fell on a weeks-old wildfire burn scar in the mountains above Montecito on the Santa Barbara County coast, unleashing huge torrents that tore through the community, killing 23 people and destroying or damaging hundreds of homes. In 1934 a storm over the Southern California mountains unleashed runoff so intense that 30 people were killed, more than 480 homes were destroyed. And on Christmas Day in 2003, rain over fire-scarred mountains unleashed a debris flow that killed 16 people who had gathered at a church facility in a canyon. What can be done to protect communities? One of the best ways to manage landslides is with debris basins — pits carved out of the landscape to catch material flowing downhill that the U.S. Geological Survey says can reach speeds exceeding 35 mph (56 kph). Often located at the mouths of canyons, the basins collect debris while allowing water to continue downstream, according to Los Angeles County Public Works. This prevents blockages of the storm drain system but requires the removal of sediment from the basins, something that can take days or months depending on their size. But basins, which can require a lot of land, can also disrupt the natural ecosystem and lead to beaches needing to be replenished by collecting sediment that flows out of the canyons, according to experts. They're also costly — Santa Barbara County spent $20 million on a new basin after 2018 — and must be emptied occasionally or they can be overwhelmed by new landslides or mudslides. After the 2018 mudslides hit Montecito, the Los Angeles Times reported that debris basins above the community were undersized and hadn't been sufficiently emptied. The community raised millions to address the problem, hiring an engineering company to map the canyons and install debris nets. The California Department of Conservation runs a geological and landslide mapping team that seeks to identify hot spots, and continually updates its map so local communities can make decisions including potential evacuations. Experts say agencies use a variety of tools to gauge the likelihood of landslides in a given area, including terrain maps and lidar – pulsed light from lasers to penetrate foliage to see the ground. Then they can watch for early warnings, such as changes over time in photos taken from the air, or from satellites, or in data from GPS monitoring stations, tilt meters and or other on-site instrumentation. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Independent
13-02-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
What causes mudslides, and what can be done to lessen the danger?
Mudslides are dangerous torrents that are usually referred to by geologists and first responders as debris flows. They have been particularly lethal in parts of California where landscape, climate, weather and geology can combine to make them more likely. California has worked to add tools to protect against mudslides, including pinpointing hot spots, creating basins and placing nets to capture falling debris before it hits homes. Why is California prone to mudslides? California has relatively young mountains from a geology standpoint, meaning much of its steep terrain is still in motion and covered in loose rocks and soil that can be sloughed off easily, especially when the ground is wet, according to geologists. Severe drought can be a problem, too. Experts say that when hard rains fall on extremely dry and hard-packed soil, it can rush downhill and pick up energy, carrying soil and debris away. And wildfires — an increasing problem across the West — can leave hillsides with little to no vegetation to hold the soil in place. What are the most vulnerable areas? The areas most at risk are on or near hillsides that have burned in recent years, with little or no vegetation left to hold soil in place. Burning vegetation and soil on a slope more than doubles the rate of water runoff, according to the California Department of Conservation, and there have been severe events over the years. On Jan. 9, 2018, intense rain fell on a weeks-old wildfire burn scar in the mountains above Montecito on the Santa Barbara County coast, unleashing huge torrents that tore through the community, killing 23 people and destroying or damaging hundreds of homes. In 1934 a storm over the Southern California mountains unleashed runoff so intense that 30 people were killed, more than 480 homes were destroyed. And on Christmas Day in 2003, rain over fire-scarred mountains unleashed a debris flow that killed 16 people who had gathered at a church facility in a canyon. What can be done to protect communities? One of the best ways to manage landslides is with debris basins — pits carved out of the landscape to catch material flowing downhill that the U.S. Geological Survey says can reach speeds exceeding 35 mph (56 kph). Often located at the mouths of canyons, the basins collect debris while allowing water to continue downstream, according to Los Angeles County Public Works. This prevents blockages of the storm drain system but requires the removal of sediment from the basins, something that can take days or months depending on their size. But basins, which can require a lot of land, can also disrupt the natural ecosystem and lead to beaches needing to be replenished by collecting sediment that flows out of the canyons, according to experts. They're also costly — Santa Barbara County spent $20 million on a new basin after 2018 — and must be emptied occasionally or they can be overwhelmed by new landslides or mudslides. After the 2018 mudslides hit Montecito, the Los Angeles Times reported that debris basins above the community were undersized and hadn't been sufficiently emptied. The community raised millions to address the problem, hiring an engineering company to map the canyons and install debris nets. The California Department of Conservation runs a geological and landslide mapping team that seeks to identify hot spots, and continually updates its map so local communities can make decisions including potential evacuations. Experts say agencies use a variety of tools to gauge the likelihood of landslides in a given area, including terrain maps and lidar – pulsed light from lasers to penetrate foliage to see the ground. Then they can watch for early warnings, such as changes over time in photos taken from the air, or from satellites, or in data from GPS monitoring stations, tilt meters and or other on-site instrumentation. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
13-02-2025
- Climate
- Associated Press
What causes mudslides, and what can be done to lessen the danger?
Mudslides are dangerous torrents that are usually referred to by geologists and first responders as debris flows. They have been particularly lethal in parts of California where landscape, climate, weather and geology can combine to make them more likely. California has worked to add tools to protect against mudslides, including pinpointing hot spots, creating basins and placing nets to capture falling debris before it hits homes. Why is California prone to mudslides? California has relatively young mountains from a geology standpoint, meaning much of its steep terrain is still in motion and covered in loose rocks and soil that can be sloughed off easily, especially when the ground is wet, according to geologists. Severe drought can be a problem, too. Experts say that when hard rains fall on extremely dry and hard-packed soil, it can rush downhill and pick up energy, carrying soil and debris away. And wildfires — an increasing problem across the West — can leave hillsides with little to no vegetation to hold the soil in place. What are the most vulnerable areas? The areas most at risk are on or near hillsides that have burned in recent years, with little or no vegetation left to hold soil in place. Burning vegetation and soil on a slope more than doubles the rate of water runoff, according to the California Department of Conservation, and there have been severe events over the years. On Jan. 9, 2018, intense rain fell on a weeks-old wildfire burn scar in the mountains above Montecito on the Santa Barbara County coast, unleashing huge torrents that tore through the community, killing 23 people and destroying or damaging hundreds of homes. In 1934 a storm over the Southern California mountains unleashed runoff so intense that 30 people were killed, more than 480 homes were destroyed. And on Christmas Day in 2003, rain over fire-scarred mountains unleashed a debris flow that killed 16 people who had gathered at a church facility in a canyon. What can be done to protect communities? One of the best ways to manage landslides is with debris basins — pits carved out of the landscape to catch material flowing downhill that the U.S. Geological Survey says can reach speeds exceeding 35 mph (56 kph). Often located at the mouths of canyons, the basins collect debris while allowing water to continue downstream, according to Los Angeles County Public Works. This prevents blockages of the storm drain system but requires the removal of sediment from the basins, something that can take days or months depending on their size. But basins, which can require a lot of land, can also disrupt the natural ecosystem and lead to beaches needing to be replenished by collecting sediment that flows out of the canyons, according to experts. They're also costly — Santa Barbara County spent $20 million on a new basin after 2018 — and must be emptied occasionally or they can be overwhelmed by new landslides or mudslides. After the 2018 mudslides hit Montecito, the Los Angeles Times reported that debris basins above the community were undersized and hadn't been sufficiently emptied. The community raised millions to address the problem, hiring an engineering company to map the canyons and install debris nets. The California Department of Conservation runs a geological and landslide mapping team that seeks to identify hot spots, and continually updates its map so local communities can make decisions including potential evacuations. Experts say agencies use a variety of tools to gauge the likelihood of landslides in a given area, including terrain maps and lidar – pulsed light from lasers to penetrate foliage to see the ground. Then they can watch for early warnings, such as changes over time in photos taken from the air, or from satellites, or in data from GPS monitoring stations, tilt meters and or other on-site instrumentation. ___
