The University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez and USGS produced a landslide hazard map for the main island of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. This map is today used by planners for land use decisions and emergency managers for hazard mitigation plans. To reduce loss from future landslides, the USGS and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez instrumented 15 slopes across the main island and share near real-time data with emergency managers and the public.
Science
Following the passage of Hurricane Maria on September 2017, The University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, along with USGS scientists produced a detailed landslide inventory and hazard map for the main island. Mapping revealed over 70,000 landslides triggered by the hurricane’s intense rainfall. These maps were published and are used by Puerto Rico planning department for land use planning and emergency management departments to develop hazard mitigation plans. Federal partners also used the landslide hazard maps for rebuilding efforts and avoid areas with associated landslide hazards.
Based on extensive field observations, USGS and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez instrumented 15 slopes across the island to share near-real time hillslope hydrological conditions on public-facing webpages. Soil moisture, pore-water pressures, and soil properties strongly determine the propensity for landsliding, so knowledge of these conditions is critical to reducing risk and loss from landslide hazards.
Public Outreach
The USGS and the Natural Hazards Center partnered with the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez to develop outreach materials on landslide hazards and shared resources and interdisciplinary expertise with a broad range of counterparts in Puerto Rico.
Go to the Puerto Rico Landslide Mitigation Project website.
Puerto Rico Landslide Monitoring Network
The University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez and USGS produced a landslide hazard map for the main island of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. This map is today used by planners for land use decisions and emergency managers for hazard mitigation plans. To reduce loss from future landslides, the USGS and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez instrumented 15 slopes across the main island and share near real-time data with emergency managers and the public.
Science
Following the passage of Hurricane Maria on September 2017, The University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, along with USGS scientists produced a detailed landslide inventory and hazard map for the main island. Mapping revealed over 70,000 landslides triggered by the hurricane’s intense rainfall. These maps were published and are used by Puerto Rico planning department for land use planning and emergency management departments to develop hazard mitigation plans. Federal partners also used the landslide hazard maps for rebuilding efforts and avoid areas with associated landslide hazards.
Based on extensive field observations, USGS and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez instrumented 15 slopes across the island to share near-real time hillslope hydrological conditions on public-facing webpages. Soil moisture, pore-water pressures, and soil properties strongly determine the propensity for landsliding, so knowledge of these conditions is critical to reducing risk and loss from landslide hazards.
Public Outreach
The USGS and the Natural Hazards Center partnered with the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez to develop outreach materials on landslide hazards and shared resources and interdisciplinary expertise with a broad range of counterparts in Puerto Rico.
Go to the Puerto Rico Landslide Mitigation Project website.