Horrendous... absolutely horrendous!! Lots more pictures and videos here... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5253561/Oprah-caught-California-mudslides-killed-13.html
Yes, that's Southern California. I do remember in Santa Cruz in the early 80's there were very heavy rains, flooding and slides. I woman I worked with lived in the slide area. In the end her house was OK but she said they suspected they would never find some of the bodies. My step father's sister was killed by a flood. I don't know when. I think it was the 50's sometime.
They pick the most elegant appearing location, high up a hill, excavate to bring about the necessary abutments to successively (their architect told them), withstand the elements, and then Mother Nature intervenes later, perhaps decades later, and slides their mansion down the mountainside into oblivion. So, WHO, WHAT, is to blame? Overzealous folks seeking to impress relatives, neighbors, friends, or tourists, have homes built in areas prone to dangerous instability. Then, hell breaks loose. Should we sympathize? Empathize? Or, rather, write this off as yet another example of California excess? Frank
True @Frank Sanoica ...these homes are in mudslide areas most of the time. Sometimes people rebuild in the same spot.
It's like those who choose to live on an island, or on the coast. In return for the luxury of living in a beautiful location, they accept certain hazards.
Try as you might, you can't mess with Mother Nature. We go around thinking we can force it to adjust to us instead of us adjusting to it. Bad choice.
Chrissy and I are in California. Don't hate on us. There is some truth to where you choose to live yet disasters can happen in all kinds of places. The people in the neighborhoods on Santa Rosa certainly were not in a high fire danger area and look what happened. While disaster was averted, people didn't suspect that the Oroville Dam last February would turn out to be a legitimate threat to their lives and property. That said, I saw an adorable newer mobile home for sale in a town in my county. But that town is a match stick waiting to happen with all the trees and I knew I could not live there without losing my mind every summer or when a fire broke out. Someone bought it as it was off the market quickly. Good for them, but I couldn't do it. @Ken Anderson I certainly want to have empathy but people building right on a beach or too close to an ocean are asking for it. Those areas should be open for all to enjoy anyway.
@Ken Anderson I have no doubt those hazards are lumped-in with the long list of "exclusions" shown in homeowner's policies. Reading through one once, I wondered just WHAT claim might actually be honored! It read something like this: "Exclusions" to coverage include bursting, bulging, freezing, movement of foundations, earthquake, war whether declared or not, arson..............etc. Frank