North Carolina

» Introduction to Landslide Activities in North Carolina

Blue Ridge Parkway 2006 Rock Slide

North Carolina also has problems with rock falls and rock slides. This slide occurred along the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2006 totaling a passing vehicle and injuring the passengers.

There is a significant slope movement hazard in North Carolina, mainly in the mountainous western region. Recent and historical evidence shows that major damaging debris flow events have affected the region at least four times from 1916 to 2004. The North Carolina Geological Survey (NCGS) has undertaken a major mapping program to develop slope movement hazard maps for 19 western North Carolina counties. This work was authorized and funded by the N.C. General Assembly in the Hurricane Recovery Act of 2005; however, at present the maps are informational and not regulatory. In addition to mapping, NCGS staff respond to technical assistance requests from local governments and the N.C. Division of Emergency Management in landslide instances that affect public safety and provide educational outreach to citizens and governmental agencies.

For each county, the NCGS creates a series of GIS maps that show slope movements and slope movement deposit locations, relative hazard rankings for debris flow initiation areas, and downslope hazard areas for potential debris flow pathways. An aggressive mapping schedule calls for completing 2-3 counties per year.

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Peeks Creek 2004 Debris Flow

The lower track portion of the Peeks Creek debris flow that occurred in September 2004 in southwestern North Carolina. This landslide damaged or destroyed 15 homes and resulted in five fatalities.

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Watuaga County 2004 Hurricane Frances Landslide

A landslide (embankment failure – debris flow) in a subdivision in Watuaga County, NC near Boone. One home was destroyed and eight others condemned for occupancy by landslides related to Hurricane Frances in 2004.

The NCGS actively maintains a landslide inventory (slope movement-slope movement deposit database) with over 5,600 data points. The database is currently in a MS Access format, but we plan to migrate to a GIS-geodatabase in the near future. Database entry information includes categories for location, landslide and deposit (e.g., debris fans) type, displaced mass dimensions, damage, movement history, slope configuration, geomorphology, lithology, Unified Rock Classification System, bedrock structure, soil classification and thickness, vegetation, surface water, groundwater features and others.

We have completed landslide hazard maps for two NC counties: Macon and Watauga. Our current work focuses on Buncombe County, with a projected completion time in Fall 2008.

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