Lidar imagery enables geologists to accurately identify landslides, such as the area around the Highway 530 Oso landslide. In this area, lidar data show prehistoric landslides in beige along the North Fork Stillaguamish River. The darker-shaded, outlined area is the extent of the March 2014 Oso landslide. (Daniel Coe/Washington State Department of Natural Resources)

Lidar imagery enables geologists to accurately identify landslides, such as the area around the Highway 530 Oso landslide. In this area, lidar data show prehistoric landslides in beige along the North Fork Stillaguamish River. The darker-shaded, outlined area is the extent of the March 2014 Oso landslide. (Daniel Coe/Washington State Department of Natural Resources)

New program may help pinpoint landslides before they happen

A bill pushing more funding toward 3D mapping and disaster preparation is on the president’s desk.

OSO — A new national program will increase 3D mapping of landslide risks to anticipate disasters like the deadly Oso mudslide that struck nearly seven years ago.

Legislation passed by Congress Dec. 16 dramatically increases the use of a laser-surveying technology known as Lidar to map, identify and track potential landslide areas. Lidar stands for Light Detection and Ranging.

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, whose district includes Oso, and Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell introduced the bill.

“Employing our best science and mapping technologies will help communities across our state save lives, safeguard property, and improve our emergency planning and response,” Cantwell said in a statement.

Passage of the bill marks a shift in the U.S. government’s consideration of landslides as a secondary risk to earthquakes, floods and volcano eruptions.

Currently, “Landslides are sort of dealt with as an after-effect of other natural disasters,” said Nick Martin, a spokesperson for DelBene.

Now, the U.S. Geological Survey will treat landslides as a primary natural disaster.

The new bill gives the survey funding to form a program specifically for landslides, with its own dedicated staff.

They’ll get $40 million annually for a 3D mapping program, but that money is spread throughout the whole nation.

As it is, state governments, local communities and tribes are responsible for initiating any mapping. The new federal program will centralize that data collection.

“With programs like this, communities across the country will be able to understand where you could see shifts in the ground and be able to better predict where ground has a greater likelihood of a slide,” Martin said.

The federal program will complement efforts by Washington’s Department of Natural Resources and counterpart agencies in other states.

DNR has made progress mapping and analyzing data about the glacially formed landscape in the upper half of the state, including Snohomish County. The work relies heavily on aerial maps created using lidar.

Each year, landslides kill 25 to 50 people and cause between $1.6 billion and $3.2 billion in damage in the United States.

The 2014 Oso mudslide near Darrington, a catastrophe that destroyed 49 homes and took 43 lives, along with a recent landslide in Haines, Alaska, played a large role in pushing the legislation’s passage.

DelBene first introduced the bill in 2016, and has reintroduced it every session since.

“The legislation that Representative DelBene has brought forward may not prevent another Oso slide,” Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin said. “But it gives communities like Darrington data that we can use to make important decisions about land use in hazard areas, training for our emergency services, and redundancy in infrastructure so precious time is not lost in a time of need.”

Julia-Grace Sanders: 425-339-3439; jgsanders@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @sanders_julia.

Talk to us

More in Local News

Everett
Cat killed, 9 people displaced after duplex fire in Everett

None of the people were injured in the fire reported around 1:15 a.m. in the 11500 block of Meridian Avenue S.

Brian Henrichs, left, and Emily Howe, right, begin sifting out the bugs from their bug trap along Port Susan on Monday, May 22, 2023 in Stanwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘A delta for the future’: Scientists try to save salmon at Stilly’s mouth

The Stillaguamish River’s south fork once supported 20,000 salmon. In 2019, fewer than 500 fish returned to spawn.

Mountlake Terrace Library, part of the Sno-Isle Libraries, in Mountlake Terrace, Washington on Thursday, June 1, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Sno-Isle workers cite safety, unfilled positions in union push

Workers also pointed to inconsistent policies and a lack of a say in decision-making. Leadership says they’ve been listening.

A view over the Port of Everett Marina looking toward the southern Whidbey Island fault zone in March 2021. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County agencies to simulate major disaster

The scenario will practice the response to an earthquake or tsunami. Dozens of agencies will work with pilots.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Tulalip man sentenced to 4 years for carjacking

Michael J.D. Clark Jones received help from a woman after fleeing the police. He then assaulted her while stealing her car.

Lynnwood
1 stabbed at apartment in Lynnwood

The man, 26, was taken to an Everett hospital with “serious injuries.”

A firefighting helicopter carries a bucket of water from a nearby river to the Bolt Creek Fire on Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022, on U.S. Highway 2 near Index, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Red flag fire warning issued west of Cascades

There are “critical fire weather” conditions due to humidity and wind in the Cascades, according to the National Weather Service.

Police stand along Linden Street next to orange cones marking pullet casings in a crime scene of a police involved shooting on Friday, May 19, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens man identified in Everett manhunt, deadly police shooting

Travis Hammons, 34, was killed by officers following a search for an armed wanted man in a north Everett neighborhood.

A house fire damaged two homes around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 6, 2023 in Marysville, Washington. (Photo provided by Marysville Fire District)
Fire burns 2 homes in Marysville, killing 2 dogs

Firefighters responded to a report of a fire north of Lakewood Crossing early Tuesday, finding two houses engulfed in flames.

Most Read