MALIBU—A mudslide at the intersection of Piona Road and Costa Del Sol Way occurred Friday, March 31. Emergency response teams were called to the incident as the road was deemed impassable. The incident took place around 5 p.m. and there were no reports of injuries or fatalities.
A mudslide is a mass movement of smooth materials, usually mud or heavily saturated soil, down a hill or steep slope.
Mudslides are known as debris flows, indicating that they are a form of landslides. They look like a large flowing river of mud and sometimes branches, stones, and even can contain human property like cars or houses.
Heavy rain can be a strong trigger for mudslides because the accumulated water alters the pressure within the slope, leading to instability.
Road closures due to mudslides also occurred on Malibu Canyon Road on March 15 and on Topanga Canyon Boulevard on March 22. A section of the road was closed due to a mudslide between March 1 and March 2. The incident occurred near Pacific Coast highway and Pepperdine University.
“Small mudslides and rockslides occur regularly in Malibu, especially during the rainy winter months. Since the Woolsey Fire (2018), however, the threat of a large-scale mudslide has amplified in and around the burn areas,” reads the city of Malibu website.
WARNING SIGNS
- Leaning trees
- Water coming through the ground in new places
- Slowly developing, widening cracks in the ground, streets, and driveways
- Tilting utility poles
- Decks or patios that start to lean away from a house
- Unusual sounds like trees cracking or boulders knocking together
- Doors or windows that stick or jam for the first time
- New cracks in tiles, bricks, or building foundations
