In the wake of hurricane Otto, there is not only death and destruction, it is necessary to add another problem: an acceleration in landslides and instability of the terrain on some flanks of Miravalles and Tenorio volcanoes.
In a report prepared by the National Emergency Commission (CNE), landslides were detected due to removals triggered by the rainy conditions produced by Otto.
After a flyby on January 24th, Blas Enrique Sánchez, a geologist at the CNE Risks Research and Analysis Unit, explained that the affected areas present a ‘regular process’ of erosion.
In the final report delivered at the end of December, a series of landslides were identified at the top of Miravalles volcano, which in the end it’s material that goes to the river channels and everything gets accumulated. That generates all affectations downstream,
declared Sánchez.
Overflights are part of ongoing monitoring plans to identify existing instability at landsliding sites.
There were already areas susceptible to landslides, because they have high slopes and frequent seismicity,
informed the official.
the rains of the last months have generated a ‘normal washing’ of the deposits of the channel.
Prior to Otto the slopes were unstable with a greatpossibility of landslides. However, after it, the extreme conditions generated by the cyclone accelerated the processes.