Hurricane Melissa threatens catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in the Caribbean

The U S National Hurricane Center warned Monday that Hurricane Melissa could cause catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides in parts of Jamaica Cuba and Hispaniola The annual death toll due to landslides in the U S is an average of - people and thousands globally according to the U S Geological Survey Landslides defined by the USGS as the movement of a mass of rock debris or earth down a slope are capable of traveling tens of miles kilometers per hour and can damage homes and block roads and rail lines Earthquakes heavy rain and changes to the soil such as construction or agricultural practices can trigger landslides Melissa s relatively slow movement path over mountainous terrain and tremendous rainfall amounts up to inches centimeters in certain localities are ingredients that are contributing to a worrisome landslide exposure mentioned Brian Tang a professor of atmospheric science at University at Albany It s not like an urban area where it just kind of drains slowly It really runs very expeditiously down the hillsides explained Tang The heavy rainfall can cause erosion exacerbate a slope s weakness and end in a landslide According to Jamaica s Office of Catastrophe Preparedness and Urgency Management landslides are the the majority common natural hazard in the island nation Hispaniola which Haiti and the Dominican Republic share and Cuba are also susceptible to landslides due to mountainous terrain and their locations in a seismically functioning zone The Blue Mountains in eastern Jamaica could be a region where landslides occur with heavy rain due to steep hill slopes noted Karl Lang an assistant professor of geology at the Georgia Institute of System Lang announced regions that have been clearcut for agriculture could be susceptible to landslides because the plants that previously grew there helped bind the soil together by the strength of their roots Specific roads built on steep hills in Puerto Rico were affected by landslides when Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Maria hit announced Lang Every time you cut into a steep slope you make a steeper slope above the road he announced The real complication there is that you create the road that s your conduit in and out of the location and then the landslide dams the road You create your own issue both by creating the increased probability of a landslide but also by having those landslides occur where you need to go announced Lang