Alejandra Hernandez

Geography- 1700
ePortfolio Assignment
Disaster Preparedness Plan

I decided to explore about landslides because it is a common hazard in Utah which causes millions of
dollars in material damages when they occur, but I wanted to focus in the Saratoga Springs area, which
is where I live, especially because in September 2012 occurred a mudslide that affected more than 20
homes.

Pictures: Fox 13. http://fox13now.com/2012/09/01/flooding-forcing-

evacuations-in-saratoga-springs/. You can also see videos about this
event in this link.

Science of the hazard

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, landslides are a serious geologic hazard common to almost
every state. The document Landslide Hazards in Utah explains that a landslide is a downslope
movement of rock, soil, and/or organic debris under the influence of gravity In Utah, many landslides
move slowly, but some move quickly with devastating results. Debris flows, which are a type of landslide
having very high water content, can travel at speeds greater than 30 to 50 miles per hour (1).

Mark Christensen, Saratoga Springs city manager, explained to the Daily Herald in a report published on
September 5, 2012 the reasons which caused the mudslide: The thundershowers on Sept. 1 were
nearly twice what Natural Resource Conservation Services calculated for a 100-year-flood flow in
Saratoga Springs off Lake Mountain. The situation was exacerbated by the charred burn left from the
Dump Fire and record rain -- 1.25 inches in 20 minutes. The mudslide on Saturday at 7:42 p.m. reached
997 cubic feet per second, shooting over a drainage culvert barrier, hurling boulders and debris into
homes, roads and municipal buildings. That is exceeding a 100-year-storm; it was an incredibly large
event (2).

Geography of the hazard

The Landslide Susceptibility Map of Utah shows that the Saratoga Springs area has a landslide
susceptibility mostly moderate, represented by the orange sections in the map, which means these are
areas that have slopes prone to landsliding based on observed landslide slope angles. The category
includes slopes greater than 7 (12%) to greater than 18 (32%) depending on the geologic unit (3).

Saratoga
Springs

Map: http://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/maps/m-228/m-228.pdf
The light yellow areas also indicate a landslide susceptibility low, which means areas that have slopes
that may produce landslides. The category includes slopes from 5 - 7 (9 - 12%) for lower slope angle
threshold ranging up to 13 - 18 (23 - 32%) for the upper slope-angle threshold depending on the
geologic unit (4).

Impacts of the hazard

As we could see in the previous images, the material damages are one of the main impacts of landslides.
For this event, fortunately these families didnt lose completely their homes, but they were significantly
affected. In that time was created a fund to help the victims of the mudslide which had the goal to collect
$250,000, but this amount didnt include the costs to the county for the cleaning effort or the design of
additional plans to prevent that an event like this affects again the residents of Saratoga Springs.

Due this mudslide was related with a 6,000-acre Dump Fire burn site near Saratoga, the State of Utah
spent $7 million to $8 million to purchase 2 million pounds of seeds which were spread in the mountains
affected by fires that year. But, like Tyler Thompson, of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, explained
to the Daily Herald unfortunately, seeding is not an immediate fix for mudslides -- seeds planted this year
will not be strongly rooted plants until late spring. So the possibility for another mudslide this fall remains.
Seeding is really a long-term solution (5).

Mitigation and preparedness

In the case of this particular event, the City of Saratoga Springs developed an action plan in an attempt
to prevent something similar in the future. They are widening a culvert to slow the flow. Above where
the mudslide overran its basin, they are creating an earthen barricade to guide the slide and debris back
into the culvert (6).

But for situations like this, it is fundamental to prepare to the communities about what to do in these
cases. In a research to the website of the City of Saratoga Springs I didnt find information about an
action plan for residents in case of a landslides. This plan has to be carefully designed and widely
diffused in the community.

The document Landslide Hazards in Utah offers some advice about landslide warning signs:

- New cracks or unusual bulges in the ground, street pavements, or sidewalks.

- Soil moving away from foundations and other rigid objects.

- Decks and patios tilting and/ or moving relative to the main house.
- Tilting or cracking of walls, concrete floors, and foundations.

- Sticking doors and windows, and visible open spaces and/ or cracks, indicating jambs and frames out of
plumb.

- Leaning telephone poles, trees, retaining walls, or fences.

- Sunken or down-dropped sidewalks and pavements.

- Springs, seeps, or saturated ground in areas that have not typically been wet before.

- Rapid increase in stream flow, possibly accompanied by increased turbidity (cloudy water).

- Sudden decrease in stream flow, though rain is still falling or just recently stopped.

Also local government has a huge responsibility because the recognition of landslide risk prior to
development and implementation of appropriate land-use planning and landslide mitigation measures
are the most effective means to reduce their hazards (7).

References

(1) (7) Beukelman, G. (2011). Landslide Hazards in Utah. Utah Department of Natural Resources.
Retrieved from http://files.geology.utah.gov/online/pi/pi-98.pdf

(2) (6) Allred, C. and Warnock, C. (September 5, 2012). Saratoga Springs examines cause of mudslide,
looks to future. Daily Herald. Retrieved from http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/north/saratoga-
springs/saratoga-springs-examines-cause-of-mudslide-looks-to-future/article_2e4d3670-ebd1-5aa8-
8a12-6344ac5d6010.html.

(3) (4) Giraud, R. and Shaw L. Landslide susceptibility map of Utah. Utah Department of Natural
Resources. Retrieved from http://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/maps/m-228/m-228.pdf.

(5) Warnock, C. (October 3, 2012). State to spread 2 million pounds of seed to prevent mudslides. Daily
Herald. Retrieved from http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/north/saratoga-springs/state-to-
spread-million-pounds-of-seed-to-prevent-mudslides/article_0640acdf-2f92-5bfc-b1e3-
0c9e3c29cc2b.html.