Latest Landslide Casualties
Myanmar Border with China
About two dozen Chinese workers have been killed or reported as missing after a landslide in a Myanmar region bordering with southwest China’s Yunan Province, reports said.
Taiwan
The construction site on No. 3 Freeway at the junction with the No. 2 Freeway that leads to the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is seen in this photograph taken yesterday. Photo: Central News Agency. Image may be subject to copyright.
A Taiwanese construction worker died in second freeway landslide, a week afetr another deadly mudslide claimed four lives.
“Too much water was collecting at the base of a bridge, making it necessary for workers to pump out the water. While Su was pumping, the earth around him collapsed and swept him down 10m, fire fighters said. Rescue workers needed half an hour to free him, but by then he was completely covered in mud, reports said.” A report said.
On April 26, a massive landslide blocked a 300-meter long section of a major road, the No.3 Freeway between Taipei and Keelung, burying 4 people under thousands of tons of earth and rocks. The volume of earth that moved onto the freeway was later estimated at about 200,000m³ of rock and soil.
Kenya
Landslides triggered by heavy rain have killed more than 2 dozen people, and made hundreds homeless in Kenya. Dozens of homes have been destroyed, a report said. See also: Kenya villagers die in Rift Valley landslide
Azerbaijan
Some 32 villages were isolated from the center of Azerbaijan as landslide destroyed a major road, Guba-Gonagkend, in Guba region of the country, a report said.
The “Ministry of Emergency Situations” dispatched aid helicopters to deliver foods to the affected villages.
According to Azerbaijan New Agency, APA, some 71 landslides were reported in the country in 2009 including 29 incidents within the first 4 months of the year. The number of landslides reported in the first quarter of this year totaled 110 incidents, or 3.8 time as many as last year.
According to the chief of Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry, Shaig Niftiyev, the government hot line had received 11 reports of landslides in the last two days, APA reported.
Atmospheric condensation and torrential rains
“ The recent observations revealed 178 zones of landslide in the country. Monitoring and geological work was done once in these areas. The majority of them are stabilized areas. But this stabilization does not mean that there will not be landslide in this area. There is periodical activation in the landslide processes,” he said.
“The great majority of the landslides occur along the foot of the Great Caucasus and Mountainous Talish. A landslide occurred on the 32km of Goranboy-Agjakend highway in Ashagi Agjakend village. Though it was a local area, the landslide caused serious damage. A local landslide in Gariblar village of Tovuz region killed one. The landslide occurred in alunite production field in Dashkesan last February. When we visited the site we made prognosis that the landslide would continue in Altundagh settlement too. Mollahasanli village of Dashkesan also suffered from the disaster. It has been a landslide area since 1990s. The landslide intensified there last year and caused serious damages this year too. Yesterday we were informed that the landslide area intensified again.”
Ministry experts say Azerbaijan landslides are invariably triggered by the increase in atmospheric condensation. “[A 25-cm] snow cover [triggered] the landslide zone in Guba region. [The hazard was worsened by] torrential rains.”
Another land slide caused much destruction to Dashkesen region of Azerbaijan on May 2, 2010.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):
Water Crisis in Mbuji-Mayi Caused by Landslide
Hundreds of thousands of people in Mbuji-Mayi, central DRC, are facing a severe water crisis after a landslide destroyed their town’s water supply in March.
Many of town’s three million population have to walk at least 20km in search of water every day, a report said.
“Lack of water in Mbuji-Mayi has been dire for several weeks now; at the moment people are obliged to walk over 20km to fetch water for domestic use from small rivers around the town,” Theodore Thiyekele, a priest, told IRIN. “Others are buying drinking water from young men who fetch it from sources far away from the town.”
Landslide Blocked Railway in Armenia
A large landslide triggered by torrential rains blocked the railway lines, stopping the trains near Vanadzor-Alaverdi, Armenia, Emergency officials said, News-am reported.
“Railway was covered by 500 m³ layer of soil Sunday. The road was partially cleaned by 2:35 p.m., trains traffic was temporarily resumed,” an official statement said.
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