15 June 2010

The strange similarity between the Attabad and the landslide in Oliver

Posted by Dave Petley

Yesterday I posted in both the ongoing situation at Attabad (and I am glad to say that it now seems likely that the reported landslide at Shimshal was a false alarm) and the mud and debris flow at Oliver in Canada.  It is now reported that the Oliver slide was caused by the failure of an embankment retaining a small irrigation lake.  If that is the case then I assume that the lake is this one:

The damage, shown below in an image from the Vancouver Sun, does serve to demonstrate the destructive potential of lake collapses, and thus our ongoing concerns about Attabad:

Has anyone seen any decent images of the path that the flow took between the lake and the valley floor?