Mass Wasting
In this week’s post, I will discuss mass wasting events and how they affect (or more so, don’t affect) the Netherlands. According to ThinkHazard, the chances of landslides are significantly low, making such a mass wasting event a very low level hazard. This means that rainfall patterns, terrain slope, geology, soil, land cover and (potentially) earthquakes that make localized landslides a rare hazard phenomenon. Despite not having disastrous mass wasting themselves, the Netherlands has reached out to help other countries, such as Colombia, to prevent damage. When rivers burst their banks and caused devastating mudslides (which caused 90 deaths and considerable property damage) in Antioquia, the Netherlands utilized their expertise in flood prevention. Netherlands experts analyzed causes and drew up prevention plans, with Lilliane Plouman, development cooperation minister, saying “we want to prevent as much human suffering as possible. And at the same time we believe a safer living...