Debris Flow Chasers

Debris flows are a type of landslide where a liquified jumble of earth and plant materials form a fast moving mixture following a rain event, dam breach or rapid snow or glacier melting ( from a volcanic eruption, for example). Here, people anticipated the flow along a dry creek bed and essentially ‘chased’ the event down as a storm chaser would track down severe weather such as an outbreak of tornadoes. Is this safe?…not at all! but what’s so eerie is the way the flow occurs well after the rain storm. This reminds me of the way tsunami waves devastate coastal areas, many hours after large submarine earthquakes generate their initial jolt.