SLIDES-PR: DRIVING LANDSLIDE HAZARD SCIENCE AND RISK COMMUNICATION IN PUERTO RICO

Puerto Rico (PR) is more vulnerable to the varied impacts of landslides than any other jurisdiction in the United States. The 1985 Mameyes-Ponce disaster that claimed over 130 lives remains the deadliest landslide event on record for any state or territory in the nation. Although not as devastating, each year, the densely populated Caribbean island faces the immediate and long-term effects of mass wasting triggered by natural phenomena that include high-intensity tropical rainfall and seismic shaking events. PR’s diverse geological and topographic conditions, in addition to centuries of anthropogenic landscape modification have led to exceptionally high susceptibility to physical erosion.

After Hurricane María in 2017, the SLIDES-PR (Storm-induced Landslide Impact Dynamics on Environment and Society in PR) project was launched in the University of Puerto Rico Department of Geology to document the topographic effect of the tropical cyclone across the island’s mountainous terrain. This effort led to the 1) development of an event inventory of 70,000+ mass wasting sites and has since been expanded to 2) produce a modern high-resolution rainfall-induced landslide susceptibility map for PR, 3) publish and distribute a Spanish-language landslide guide for residents of the island, 4) determine the short- and long-term effects of landslide-driven sedimentation on the island's fluvial network and vulnerable reservoir system, 5) establish a monitoring network with the goal to develop landslide forecasting capabilities.

The endeavor is ongoing, involves multiple undergraduate and graduate students, and has benefited from collaboration with colleagues including the USGS Landslide Hazards program, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Given the lack of a state-level geological survey in PR, the SLIDES-PR program has filled an important need for the local population, and an essential part of the program involves the communication of landslide science to the general public via strategic partnerships and an active social media page with 4,000+ followers. As the program grows, events like Hurricane Fiona in 2022 reiterate the importance to focus on landslide hazard science and risk communication in the island.