Landslides triggered by Hurricane Maria: Assessment of an extreme event in Puerto Rico

During September 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered more than 70,000 slope failures throughout the mountainous regions of Puerto Rico (USA). Since then, the USGS has had a multi-faceted team working to understand landslide hazards in Puerto Rico. Using aerial imagery immediately after the hurricane, an island-wide inventory of the hurricane-induced landslides created in the following years, and detailed field studies of 123 landslides, we aim to gain insight into location-specific controls on landslide characteristics, sediment generation, and the consequent hazards. This talk will review past and on-going USGS work in Puerto Rico, and preview some new work from Utuado, where the landslide density was highest. In Utuado, we have begun pairing material properties, hydrologic measurements, land-use, and erosion rates with field mapping to understand the potential frequency, or conditions, of landslide recurrence. The goal is to understand the role of storm-driven landslides as immediate hazards as well as their role in longer-term tropical landscape evolution and weathering.

Cerovski-Darriau (2022) Landslides triggered by Hurricane Maria: Assessment of an extreme event in Puerto Rico. USGS Landslide Hazards Seminar, 18 May 2022.

Video: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/landslides-triggered-hurricane-maria-assessment-extreme-event-puerto-rico

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