The City of Los Angeles protects foothill communities from potentially devastating mudslides through a "debris basin system," according to a video recently posted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Photo by Adam Dubrowa/FEMAMudslide damage in Pasadena, Calif.
The video shows the tremendous power of the mudslides racing down the LA hills. According to a resident in the video who went through a mud slide, " … 10 inches in a week and we didn't have any mud move. Two inches in an hour and we had a lot.
"I probably had 80 tons of mud come down in my backyard in just an hour. So when the rain fall intensity is up, that's when you have to be prepared. You are not going to stop it. The best you can do is try to steer it to a safe place."
In Los Angeles, that's exactly what the engineers have tried to do. Channels divert the mudslide into debris basins that accumulate the mud that slides down the hills. FEMA then helps pay for the emptying of the basins so that they're ready for the next slide.
The cleanup and repair costs attributed to strong winter storms that hit Southern California are estimated at $45 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Check out the FEMA video below.
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