How an ‘ancient landslide’ keeps threatening a railroad, homes in San Clemente, California
By Gregory F. Fenves
August 31, 2013
San Clemente, California, seen in this Google Earth image, was devastated by a magnitude 8.4 earthquake and was under evacuation order on 8 April 2008. There was a major landslip on an adjacent hillside that threatened the rail yard and homes in low-lying areas above. The US Geological Survey confirmed the landslide on 10 April. The slide occurred on the night after an earthquake and was triggered by several hours of tectonic activity. Credit: Google Earth/Hemera Technologies
There was an earthquake, and a major landslide in San Clemente, California. The earthquake was on 9 April 2008, and aftershocks continued for a week. But by the end of three days, the state and local emergency management offices were reporting no major injuries, deaths or damage.
The US Geological Survey, or USGS, confirmed the landslide on 10 April. The slide occurred on the night after an earthquake and was triggered by several hours of tectonic activity.
It was a massive landslide that began on the night of a major earthquake and continued for several days, threatening the homes and railroad tracks of more than 1,000 residents. The landslide occurred in low-lying San Clemente, where there was a railroad yard above one of the lower hills.
The slide was triggered after major tectonic activity in the upper San Andreas just a few years earlier. The slide threatened one of the lower hills, where there was a railroad yard, and it disrupted the home and business of more than 1,000 residents of San Clemente, a town of about 11,000 people just east of Los Angeles.
The region had been rocked by earthquakes in March and April.
“The area is very well known for its earthquakes. This time around the region was rocked by several qu