Number 10 Boulder Hits Car
In October of 2018, a rockslide struck a road in Tibet and nearly crushed an SUV. The incident was
captured by a dashboard camera. As the vehicle was travelling down the opposite lane, in Bomê County,
a massive boulder rolled down the mountain. It smashed into the SUV’s hood and sent it spinning,
before bouncing off the road and striking the trees from an adjacent valley. Fortunately,
none of the occupants were hurt. Had the boulder impacted the side of the car,
it would’ve likely launched it off the road or, at the very least, injured those inside.
Number 9 Frank Slide
On April the 29th of 1903, a massive rockslide partially buried the mining town of Frank,
in Canada. Over 121 million tons of limestone rock slid down Turtle Mountain and, in slightly over
a minute, obliterated the town’s eastern edge. To put that tremendous weight into perspective,
it’s roughly 19 times heavier than the Pyramid of Giza. 70 to 90 residents are believed to
have been killed and most of them were never recovered from beneath the rubble. The death toll
is possibly higher since dozens of transients had been camping at the base of the mountain,
while looking for work. Several miners were trapped underground and, with the entrance
blocked by the slide, they spent 13 hours digging an alternative path to the surface. Considered
the deadliest rockslide in Canadian history, the Frank slide was primarily caused by the mountain’s
unstable formation. Its heavy limestone top rested on softer materials, which had been weakened by
years of erosion. An unusual winter, with warm days and cold nights, meant that the water in
the mountain’s fissures would freeze and thaw repeatedly, thus contributing to the instability.
Number 8 Justin Ibershoff In 2021, a rock climber triggered a rockslide that
claimed his life, at the Death Valley National Park, in California. 38-year-old Justin Ibershoff
was part of an amateur climbing club and had extensive experience with the region’s canyons. He
and several friends were descending Deimos Canyon. At some point during the descent, Ibershoff
stepped on a loose rock and a rockslide ensued. It pushed the climber past two of his companions
and over the edge of a dry fall. Ibershoff fell to his death from a 95-foot cliff. Rescuers
found his body the following day, aided by a California Highway Patrol helicopter. Climbers
were subsequently warned by the authorities to avoid the upper section of the canyon
as the rockslide had left it unstable. Number 7 Vajont Dam Landslide
With a height of roughly 287 yards, the Vajont Dam in northern Italy was one of the tallest in
the world. It was designed during Mussolini’s dictatorship but construction hadn’t begun
until 1957, when the project was undertaken by the Adriatic Energy Corporation. The deep gorge of the
Vajont River was notoriously unstable. In 1959, a landslide in the region generated a 66-foot wave
which killed one person. During construction, a number of minor landslides, fractures and shifts
had occurred on the road to the dam. In 1960, a landslide of roughly 1 million cubic yards
fell into the lake but there were no casualties and work resumed. Several geologists and engineers
warned that filing the reservoir could compromise the integrity of the mountainside and potentially
trigger a devastating landslide. Their warnings were ignored by the corporation and a decision
was made to proceed with the project. Then, on October the 9th of 1963, over 9 billion cubic feet
of rock, earth and forest broke from Monte Toc. It fell inside the reservoir in less than a minute,
triggering a megatsunami. The wave rose to an estimated 820 feet,
meaning it would’ve a struck two thirds up the Empire State Building. It overtopped the dam
and flooded the narrow valley below. The town of Longarone, situated directly under the dam,
was completely destroyed and several neighboring towns were severely damaged.
Up to 2,000 people lost their lives and many of the bodies were never recovered. The dam
still stands to this day, but the reservoir was never refilled. While the Italian government
and the corporation handling the project were quick to point to a natural disaster,
a number of employees were eventually sentenced for negligence and manslaughter.
Number 6 Diecai Mountain Tragedy
In March of 2015, seven people were crushed by a rockslide which came down a mountain in Guilin,
China. The Diecai Mountain region is a well-known beauty spot due to its karst landscape and caves.
The same geographical features that make it a coveted tourist destination also make the area
prone to landslides, according to Chinese media. The tourists had been waiting to board boats
for a sightseeing trip on the Li River. Several rocks struck them,
including a 10-foot-wide boulder. Some were hit in the head and abdomen while others were
pushed in the river. Pictures taken at the scene showed personal items, such as shoes and handbags,
next to pools of blood on the ground. 4 people in the group died at the scene while 3 others
would perish in Guilin hospitals as a result of their injuries. Up to 25 others were hurt in the
incident, but not to a life-threatening degree. Number 5 Jeff Elsey and Maureen Morris
In December of 2013, a boulder the size of an elephant obliterated a house in Utah,
killing its two occupants. 58-year-old Jeff Elsey and Maureen Morris, aged 65,
were inside the two-story wooden home, at the base of a mountain in Rockville. They had lived in the
small town for six years and were well-known in the community. The rockslide was determined to
have been a natural occurrence and not a result of human activity. It was likely triggered after
frost and ice had begun to thaw around the rocks. Several boulders tumbled down the mountain,
including one which stood at over 15 feet. The gigantic rock flattened Elsey and Moriss’
property, leaving behind a scene of complete destruction. The victims’ bodies were subsequently
recovered from the wreck and several other homes were evacuated after geologists determined that
there was a risk of another rockslide. Number 4 Gansu Mudslide
At midnight, on August the 8th of 2010, a devastating mudslide struck Zhouqu County,
in China’s Gansu Province. The seat of the county, with a population of over 50,000 people was
the most affected by the disaster. After heavy rains, a buildup of debris formed a dam on a small
river, north of the city of Zhugqu. Water levels rose and pushed against the dam until it broke,
sending roughly 64 million cubic feet of rock and mud towards the city. The volume was over 50 times
greater than that of the US Capitol Rotunda and the surge reportedly stood at up to 5 stories.
It violently tore through apartment buildings, buried hundreds of low-rise homes and covered
at least one village in its entirety. More than 1,471 people were killed while 294 others were
declared missing and subsequently presumed dead. A layer of mud, which averaged 16 feet in thickness,
leveled an area 3.1 miles long and nearly 1,000 feet wide. Some sources reported
that the scale of the disaster had been greatly influenced by human activity. Since the 1950s,
the forest reserve in Zhugqu had shrunk by nearly a third due to excessive logging. There were also
numerous hydroelectric construction projects in the region. This combination of factors
had caused soil erosion as well as millions of cubic feet of bulldozed material to enter the
water. According to a report from The Christian Science Monitor, two researchers had predicted
the mudslides in the late 1990s. Number 3 Erick Castenada
In October of 2018, a Guatemalan motorist was killed after a boulder landed on his car.
36-year-old Erick Castenada was driving home from work, in the city of Villa Nueva,
when the massive rock fell from the mountain. It broke through the roof of Castenada’s Honda and
became embedded in the vehicle. The windscreen and front door windows were also destroyed. The road
was closed as emergency vehicles rushed to the scene. By the time firefighters arrived to remove
the boulder from the car, Castenada had already succumbed to his critical crushing injuries.
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Number 2 2017 Mocoa Landslide On April the 1st of 2017, a period
of heavy rains triggered a series of devastating floods and landslides in Putumayo, Colombia, which
had a devastating impact on the city of Mocoa. Due to its mountainous terrain and frequent rainfall,
the region is known for deadly landslides. The drops of the Andean mountains are extremely steep
which is why fast-flowing waters will often carry massive boulders with them. On March the 31st,
moist tropical air flowed through the Amazon and towards the Andes. It brought heavy precipitation
and torrential rains. The Mulatos, Sangoyoca and Mocoa rivers overflowed, unleashing devastating
mudflows on infrastructure and residences in the city of Mocoa. Many homes had been poorly
built and were consequently leveled by the landslides while others were buried in mud.
Tens of thousands of people were affected by the disaster while at least 329 lost their lives.
Number 1 Vargas Tragedy The Vargas Tragedy was one of the deadliest
mudslides to have occurred in recent history. In December of 1999, over the course of 10 days,
torrential rains had inundated the mountainous regions of Venezuela.
The period of maximum intensity was from the 14th to the 16th. Following a first wave of floods,
thousands of shallow landslides occurred. Rock and soil was stripped from the landscape and
started barreling down the mountainside. The material was further liquefied, resulting in
devastating debris flows. They were fast moving and highly destructive, with some carrying large
boulders or tree trunks. According to estimations from geologists in the region, their velocity
varied from 11 to 48 feet per second. To put that figure into a separate context, it’s close to that
of the most proficient race horses. The Vargas State was the hardest struck, as up to 10% of its
population perished in the disaster. Entire towns, like Carmen de Uria or Cerro Grande,
completely disappeared. Homes were swept into the ocean and over 75,000 people were displaced.
10,000 to 30,000 people perished in the disaster but the death toll is difficult to determine,
as only 1,000 bodies were ever recovered. Many of the victims were buried under thick layers of mud
or carried into the ocean by the raging flows. Thanks for watching! Would you rather get caught
in a landslide or in a buffalo stampede? Let us know in the comments section below!