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What is up with all of this Mud? Recently there have been mudslides closing down highways and causing travel troubles. They have become a much talked about phenomenon as of the past couple of days. So what causes and what leads up to a mudslide occurring? 

http://https://twitter.com/TranBC/status/1460033202865778692

A mudslide is a type of landslide, a landslide is when “masses of rock, earth or debris move slowly down a slope.” (https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/landslides.html) , the difference between a landslide and a debris flow or mudslide is very slim. Not much separates the two. A mudslide’s defining characteristic is that it travels faster and generally in a channel. A mudslide develops when water quickly accumulates and therefore causes this phenomenon. Whereas a landslide requires more things to go wrong, it requires a disturbance in the stability of the slope and can be caused by heavy rains, droughts, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions. The two are extremely similar, and both become more likely when there is human modification to the land.

To give a quick clarification on human modification to the land. This is when we build things on land and by doing so disturb the soil and this can lead to instability in the soil. One example of this would be roads being built.

http://https://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo/status/1407808360263520258

Some things that make mudslides more likely is human modification of the land, or wildfires. These increase the chance due to these two things destroying roots, vegetation, and other underground things that help to keep the soil intact. The lower mainland and more so BC have had plenty of both wildfires and of human modification. Over the years we have had some really terrible fire seasons where it has been pitch black outside and where the sun has turned a nice orangey red.

So what can we do? Nothing that you or me can do other than BE PREPARED! This is what we can do, we can understand what can make a mudslide more likely. Once we understand this we can work on having an emergency plan in place to keep ourselves safe. We can understand when it is the most risky to travel, we can stay vigilant and we can stay informed.