Terrifying Video of People Narrowly Escaping Canada Landslide

By , Meteorologist
July 19, 2012; 8:51 PM
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The combination of heavy rain, above-normal snowmelt in the spring and perhaps logging practices in British Columbia are believed to be factors in a deadly landslide caught on tape over the weekend.

Downpours hit British Columbia on Saturday along the northern rim of warmth dominating in the West, contributing to a landslide in Johnson's Landing, British Columbia. Up to an inch of rain poured down from the showers and thunderstorms that erupted.

Moreover, AccuWeather Expert Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said that 100-125 percent of normal rainfall has fallen in the area since April of 2012.

The Associated Press reports that the landslide on Saturday claimed one life and three other people remain missing. Several homes were crushed by the slide.

"The flooding and resultant mudslide might be related to a longer term issues as well," AccuWeather Expert Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews said. Very heavy snow this past winter and heavy spring snowmelt may have left the area more susceptible to flooding.


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"Clear-cut logging may have also contributed to flooding," Andrews explained. Clear-cut logging is when all trees in an area are uniformly cut down.

RELATED: Old Logging Practices Linked to High Erosion Rates

The University of Oregon released a study a couple of years ago that said clear-cut logging disrupts the soil stability and leads to serious soil erosion during heavy rainfall events. The removal of low-level vegetation that would normally protect mountainous areas from mudslides are removed in clear-cut logging.

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