Landslides Disrupt Community Infrastructure

George Anderson & Richard Buzard write:

The impact and damage done by multiple landslides in the of village Ivanof Bay have re-routed a creek that went right through the village and had flowed through the firehouse. The landslides threatened electrical poles and surrounding infrastructure including an area above a residential home. A landslide washed out a bridge and carved away a newly created creek bank. Handmade creek diversion made to mitigate the impact of a new stream pattern caused by the slide.

The communities waterline was damaged and also threatened the water storage tank. About 5 inches of sediment piled up near the entrance of the pump house. The more significant landslide partially buried the water collection canyon point. There was considerable damage that swept away portions of a road used for subsistence and access to the village tsunami shelter.

Consult by Richard Buzard, Geoscience Program, University of Alaska Fairbanks:

"It seems likely that the landslides were triggered by heavy rains, which can quickly overload the surface layer, especially if there is already significant groundwater from snowmelt. Given that multiple locations slid at shallow depth, I'd say the regional geology makes this area susceptible to these rain-induced mass wasting events. To work on the issue, the Ivanof Bay Tribe is working on contracting K2Dronotics to perform an aerial survey of the landslide area. This dataset, combined with geologic and weather data, will hopefully allow the tribe to identify the cause of the slides and identify other areas that are susceptible, so they may take the appropriate steps forward." UAF. May 12, 2018.