Several homes have been evacuated following a landslip at Camas in Clark County, Washington, on Saturday 12 December 2015. Part of the hillside collapsed undermining homes upslope of the affected area, and causing direct damage by impacting at least one property bellow. Residents will not be able to return to their properties until an engineer has determined that the hillslope is safe, which may require work to be undertaken to stabilize the slope.
Landslip at Camas in Clark County, Washington. Tim Gordon/KGW.
The incident happened amid heavy rainfall that has caused flooding across parts of Washington and Oregon States. Landslides
are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water
pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to
flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by
heavy rainfall.
The approximate location of the 12 December 2015 Camas landslip. Google Maps.
The flooding may be linked to the El Niño weather system
currently affecting the Pacific Ocean, a phenomenon that typically
brings unseasonably warm weather to the northwest United States, starting
around the beginning of December, although this year parts of the US have been
suffering floods since the middle of October. The
relationship between the two events is difficult to determine; more
storms would be expected in the east Pacific late in the year
during El Niño periods, but it is not possible to say that any
particular storm was directly caused by the weather pattern.
Predicted changes to North American weather patterns during an El Niño event. NWS/NCEP Climate Prediction Center/NOAA.
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