York Town News
State geologists seek landslide information
AUGUSTA - Property losses in recent years from landslides in several Maine towns demonstrate the need for a comprehensive inventory of landslides statewide.
Maine residents and landowners are being asked to help.
According to State Geologist Robert Marvinney, "Maine has had several large landslides in the past few decades. These slides have caused considerable property damage, but are rare. Small slope failures and soil creep are common, natural processes. Better documentation of these events will enable us to better understand the hazard."
The Maine Geological Survey has established a database system for landslide information.
Residents and landowners may submit information online or by mail through a new Landslide Questionnaire, modeled on a simple classification system used by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The online form is posted at http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/slide-form.htm.
Paper copies of the questionnaire may be requested from the Maine Geological Survey at 287-2801 or mgs@maine.gov.
Copies of this Landslide Inventory Questionnaire will be electronically distributed to local town officials and state and county emergency management personnel.
Geologists at the Maine Geological Survey will incorporate the information into the Inventory of Maine Landslides and make it available to the public and to state, county, and local officials. In a pilot project, funded by the Maine Emergency Management Agency, geologists have produced landslide susceptibility maps for selected towns. Such maps are designed to help landowners and state and local officials consider landslide hazard in the planning and design of construction projects, so that future property losses from landslides may be minimized.
A series of 76 coastal landslide hazard maps have already been published for the Maine coast by MGS. These coastal maps may be requested from the Maine Geological survey by calling 287-2801.
The new program calls attention to lesser-studied inland areas.
