More than a third of Oregon has high or very high landslide susceptibility. That's according to a recently released map by the State Department of Geology. High risk areas are categorized by historic slide activity, slope, and land composition. This is the first time since 1982, when the U.S. Geological Survey published a nationwide overview, that Oregon's slide hotspots were identified. Ali Ryan Hansen is a spokeswoman for the State Department of Geology.
Hansen: "If you are a city, if you're a county, if you're somebody who has a lot of land, and you look at this map and notice; 'hey, this has been identified as a place where land sliding is likely,' that tells you that you need to dig in more and do more studying to better understand what the potential hazard is in that community."
Hansen says cartographers are beginning a more in-depth landslide mapping project for Lane County over the next two years. They will be focusing on historical slide activity, susceptibility for developed areas, and risk analysis.
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