Landslides are Canada’s forgotten menace. How can we predict them and save lives?

[...] After a disastrous flood season in Quebec last year damaged or destroyed thousands of homes, landslides have caused hundreds of smaller disasters that are highly localized, but also less predictable and potentially more deadly than the rising waters. Quebec received 350 reports of landslides in 2017 that caused property damage, nearly triple the recent average. Homes have been destroyed, a hydro tower was damaged and a major freeway closed for more than a month after ground gave away.

In British Columbia, 75-year-old Roy Sharp of Tappen died when he was swept away by mud in May. In 2017, highways were repeatedly closed and dozens of people were evacuated due to landslides.

Canada is one of the safest countries in the world, where millions are invested each year to predict and prevent the better-known dangers of floods, forest fires and the weather. But landslides are a peril that gains little notice. They kill people, cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and economic loss each year, but remain nearly as vexing as earthquakes and lightning strikes to predict. Satellite monitoring for warning signs is in its infancy and prohibitively expensive.

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