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Geotechnical News • March 2018
GEOHAZARDS
Introduction by Richard Guthrie, Editor
Winter 2018
Early into 2018, Mt. Mayon erupted in
the Philippines and, almost at the same
time, Kusatsu-Shirane erupted at a ski
resort in Japan. The former caused the
evacuation of almost 60,000, the latter
physically injured several and killed
one. Significant earthquakes hit Indo-
nesia, Alaska (a 7.9 no less!), Japan,
Taiwan, Peru, Mexico, South Africa,
Chile and Honduras. California was
inundated by debris flows, following
on the heels of (and exacerbated by)
the intense fires of December 2017.
Geohazards, as we continue to be
reminded, take on increasingly impor-
tant stature in modern societies. As
professionals we are sought out for
advice, explanation, understanding,
and mitigation. How do we take care
of our professional staff and col-
leagues when they are assessing haz-
ards? What about during mitigation?
While we don’t have all the answers,
a relatively new group of like-minded
professionals is trying to work out
how to be safe while working on steep
slopes.
The Association of Geohazards
Professionals (AGHP) was formed in
2013 to establish standards and best
practices around design and imple-
mentation of geohazard technolo-
gies such as rock fall fencing, debris
flow nets, post-support systems, and
monitoring systems. They are formally
supported by the Canadian Geotechni-
cal Society.
In this issue, John Duffy, Mark Fish
and Colby Barrett, all from AGHP,
discuss working safely on steep slopes
that require rope systems to operate.
I hope you find it thought provoking.
Call for project descriptions
Geohazards is interested in featuring
projects that you’ve been researching,
investigating, or implementing, around
the world in 2017/2018. Specifically,
we are looking to feature the breadth
and depth of Canadian geotechnical
expertise and input to Geohazard chal-
lenges elsewhere in the world. Please
submit a good quality photograph and
a project description to
by June 21, 2018.
7th Canadian Geohazards
Conference – Geohazards 7:
Engineering Resiliency in a
Changing Climate
The Canadian Geotechnical Society
(CGS) is pleased to announce the 7th
Canadian Geohazards Conference –
Geohazards 7 – to be held June 3-6,
2018 at the Coast Canmore Hotel
& Conference Centre in Canmore,
Alberta. The CGS’s Geohazards
conferences are the premiere forums
in Canada for the sharing and dis-
semination of scientific and engineer-
ing knowledge related to geohazard
assessment and risk management.
Canmore is ideally situated for host-
ing Geohazards 7. It is located within
easy travel distance from the Calgary
International Airport, and is less than
a 30-minute drive from Banff National
Park. Heavy rainfall in June 2013
resulted in the worst floods in Alber-
ta’s history. Landslides, debris floods
and debris flows cut off highway and
rail access to Banff and Canmore, and
many homes constructed on allu-
vial fans were destroyed. Municipal
governments, the Province and the
engineering and geoscience commu-
nity have since carried out aggressive
programs to quantify geohazard risk,
increase public awareness of hazards,
and are constructing mitigation mea-
sures to reduce future risk. Canmore is
a terrific venue to showcase the results
of some of these initiatives, which will
feature in the conference program and
fieldtrip.
This conference will be of interest to
engineering and geoscience students
and consultants, industry, and gov-
ernment agency representatives who
are involved in planning, approval,
construction and operation of infra-
structure and residential develop-
ment in areas prone to geohazards.
The conference will touch on the full
gamut of hazards and risks associated
with floods, debris flows, landslides,
snow avalanche, earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, degrading permafrost and
more. Arming participants with greater
awareness of methods for quantifying
geohazard magnitude and frequency
for risk assessment and mitigation
design, quantifying uncertainty in a
changing climate, and communicat-
ing with the public about geohazard
issues, are key objectives of the
conference.
Closing Notes
Thank you for your letters! If you
have a paper or project related to
Geohazards that you think would be
interesting to GN readers, please send
me note at
Until next time,
Rick
