Comments on: Devastating landslide swallows Brazilian port http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Tue, 21 May 2013 14:19:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: CastanhasDoPara http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939264 CastanhasDoPara Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939264 Ai ai, que a foda está acontecendo? Que a merda deve mim fazer? Foda, foda, foda... Mother nature is PISSED. BTW, I think 12 people died in this disaster. Ai ai, que a foda está acontecendo? Que a merda deve mim fazer? Foda, foda, foda…

Mother nature is PISSED.

BTW, I think 12 people died in this disaster.

]]> By: shanealeslie http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939267 shanealeslie Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939267 Halfway through I thought 'Hmmm, it'd be cool to play that as a level in one of those sandbox type games. Survive the slide, maybe get bonuses for saving others'. Halfway through I thought ‘Hmmm, it’d be cool to play that as a level in one of those sandbox type games. Survive the slide, maybe get bonuses for saving others’.

]]> By: mdh http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939275 mdh Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939275 I think that is exactly the case, the land under the pavement got saturated, and when it was released the soil sought its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_repose">angle of repose. </a> I think that is exactly the case, the land under the pavement got saturated, and when it was released the soil sought its angle of repose.

]]> By: Teller http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939279 Teller Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939279 One of the best illustrations I've seen of the slippery slope argument. One of the best illustrations I’ve seen of the slippery slope argument.

]]> By: murray http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939281 murray Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939281 Freakin' heck. Pity it's been sped up. Would like to see it at normal speed. Seems more like a sinkhole than a landslide. Like the river undermined the land, or the land wasn't really land but a man-made patio which collapsed. Not that I know anything. Freakin’ heck.

Pity it’s been sped up. Would like to see it at normal speed.

Seems more like a sinkhole than a landslide. Like the river undermined the land, or the land wasn’t really land but a man-made patio which collapsed. Not that I know anything.

]]> By: alllie http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939286 alllie Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939286 Don't they have engineers and geologists in Brazil? Don’t they have engineers and geologists in Brazil?

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939292 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939292 I would have thought Brazil's exhaustive environmental regulations and stringent safety and building codes would have prevented such a disaster! I would have thought Brazil’s exhaustive environmental regulations and stringent safety and building codes would have prevented such a disaster!

]]> By: bob d http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939295 bob d Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939295 Doesn't matter how many geologist or engineers there are if you don't consult any of them... Doesn’t matter how many geologist or engineers there are if you don’t consult any of them…

]]> By: fnc http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939312 fnc Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939312 "...sought its angle of repose." That angle being zero, from the looks of things. What a mess. “…sought its angle of repose.”

That angle being zero, from the looks of things. What a mess.

]]> By: Suburbancowboy http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939824 Suburbancowboy Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939824 Needs Yakety Sax. Needs Yakety Sax.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939327 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939327 I don't think the ground was waterlogged. From <a href="http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7243031-sea-port-in-brazil-falls-into-the-sea">AllVoices</a>: <blockquote> the work was intended to facilitate access to a floating pontoon, that served as a berth at the facility, after river levels dropped. __ The river is at its lowest level since records began in 1902, following the Amazon’s worst drought in decades. According to the government’s geological service, the Rio Negro was measured at a depth of 13.63 metres, down from a high of nearly 30 metres last year. </blockquote> I don’t think the ground was waterlogged. From AllVoices:

the work was intended to facilitate access to a floating pontoon, that served as a berth at the facility, after river levels dropped.
__
The river is at its lowest level since records began in 1902, following the Amazon’s worst drought in decades. According to the government’s geological service, the Rio Negro was measured at a depth of 13.63 metres, down from a high of nearly 30 metres last year.

]]> By: millie fink http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939341 millie fink Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939341 <i>That night, a Friday, we gathered in front of the set, as was the custom and the rule, with take-out Chinese. There were floods, earthquakes, mud slides, erupting volcanoes. We'd never before been so attentive to our duty, our Friday assembly. Heinrich was not sullen, I was not bored. Steffie, brought close to tears by a sitcom husband arguing with his wife, appeared totally absorbed in these documentary clips of calamity and death. Babette tried to switch to a comedy series about a group of racially mixed kids who build their own communications satellite. She was startled by the force of our objection. We were otherwise silent, watching houses slide into the ocean, whole villages crackle and ignite in a mass of advancing lava. Every disaster made us wish for more, for something bigger, grander, more sweeping.<i> Don DeLillo, <i>White Noise</i> (1985) cf. Johan Grimonprez : <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQKkUHF0pkM">dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y</i></a> That night, a Friday, we gathered in front of the set, as was the custom and the rule, with take-out Chinese. There were floods, earthquakes, mud slides, erupting volcanoes. We’d never before been so attentive to our duty, our Friday assembly. Heinrich was not sullen, I was not bored. Steffie, brought close to tears by a sitcom husband arguing with his wife, appeared totally absorbed in these documentary clips of calamity and death. Babette tried to switch to a comedy series about a group of racially mixed kids who build their own communications satellite. She was startled by the force of our objection. We were otherwise silent, watching houses slide into the ocean, whole villages crackle and ignite in a mass of advancing lava. Every disaster made us wish for more, for something bigger, grander, more sweeping.

Don DeLillo, White Noise (1985)

cf. Johan Grimonprez : dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939597 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939597 "But the elevation of the sea, into which the muddy earth slid,..." <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Manaus+brazil&num=100&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Manaus+-+Amazonas,+Brazil&ll=-1.142502,-55.700684&spn=9.304318,16.479492&z=6">Manaus, Brazil</a> is about 1000Km from the sea. “But the elevation of the sea, into which the muddy earth slid,…”

Manaus, Brazil is about 1000Km from the sea.

]]> By: dole http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939854 dole Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939854 I was the anon who originally posted a Yakety Sax YouTubeDoubler link before Antinous' #14... it was working, I went back to check it later and they must've nuked it, because it was gone. I apologized, and Antinous may have nuked my original and apology, so that was the reason for his now somewhat non sequitur reply. I'm actually kinda glad it's gone; I didn't realize there was considerable death toll in this landslide, but... I guess, again, someone had to do it. The music did fit well, though... I was the anon who originally posted a Yakety Sax YouTubeDoubler link before Antinous’ #14… it was working, I went back to check it later and they must’ve nuked it, because it was gone. I apologized, and Antinous may have nuked my original and apology, so that was the reason for his now somewhat non sequitur reply.

I’m actually kinda glad it’s gone; I didn’t realize there was considerable death toll in this landslide, but… I guess, again, someone had to do it. The music did fit well, though…

]]> By: Major Variola (ret) http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939352 Major Variola (ret) Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939352 Geomorphology, like evolution, does not sleep. We have not changed gravity, its your fault. --Keepers of the Constants Geomorphology, like evolution, does not sleep.

We have not changed gravity, its your fault. –Keepers of the Constants

]]> By: Nadreck http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939360 Nadreck Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939360 Avoiding this sort of thing is what Geological Engineers earn the big bucks for. Avoiding this sort of thing is what Geological Engineers earn the big bucks for.

]]> By: Suburbancowboy http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939891 Suburbancowboy Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939891 Oh, I posted without knowing there was a death toll. I didn't see your previous comments either. If I knew that people died in this event, I wouldn't have written that. Not cool. Knowing that people died, my stupid 3 word comment comes off as very dickish. Oh, I posted without knowing there was a death toll. I didn’t see your previous comments either.
If I knew that people died in this event, I wouldn’t have written that. Not cool. Knowing that people died, my stupid 3 word comment comes off as very dickish.

]]> By: urbanhick http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939135 urbanhick Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939135 Whoa! We're currently looking into gettting some backhow work done in our yard - I think I'll make sure we're more than 150m from any waterways. Seriously, though - I hope no-one was hurt when this happened. What a nightmare! Whoa! We’re currently looking into gettting some backhow work done in our yard – I think I’ll make sure we’re more than 150m from any waterways. Seriously, though – I hope no-one was hurt when this happened. What a nightmare!

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939141 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939141 Omm nomm nomm nomm... said the river. Omm nomm nomm nomm… said the river.

]]> By: DeWynken http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939146 DeWynken Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939146 "Oops. My bad" “Oops. My bad”

]]> By: EH http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939147 EH Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939147 That's a paddlin'. That’s a paddlin’.

]]> By: penguinchris http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939150 penguinchris Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939150 Incredible, but I couldn't help but laugh at the camera work. You can just imagine the guy operating the camera thinking "OH CRAP OH CRAP WHAT DO I POINT THE CAMERA AT HOW ABOUT THIS NO HOW ABOUT THAT OH CRAP OH CRAP!" (in Portuguese of course). Incredible, but I couldn’t help but laugh at the camera work. You can just imagine the guy operating the camera thinking “OH CRAP OH CRAP WHAT DO I POINT THE CAMERA AT HOW ABOUT THIS NO HOW ABOUT THAT OH CRAP OH CRAP!” (in Portuguese of course).

]]> By: GuyInMilwaukee http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939160 GuyInMilwaukee Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939160 via Google translate: "OH OH CRAP CRAP O QUE PONTO I DA CÂMARA DE COMO SOBRE ESTE NÃO COMO QUEM QUE OH OH CRAP CRAP!" I was imagining the same thing. via Google translate:
“OH OH CRAP CRAP O QUE PONTO I DA CÂMARA DE COMO SOBRE ESTE NÃO COMO QUEM QUE OH OH CRAP CRAP!”
I was imagining the same thing.

]]> By: Phikus http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939164 Phikus Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939164 Hoes. Is there anything they are not responsible for? Hoes. Is there anything they are not responsible for?

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939420 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939420 Our planet. I weep for it. Our planet. I weep for it.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939167 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939167 Camera is motion activated - you can see it triggering on passing birds. Camera is motion activated – you can see it triggering on passing birds.

]]> By: hubs http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939175 hubs Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939175 BoingBoing loves disaster pr0n. BoingBoing loves disaster pr0n.

]]> By: MrsBug http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939194 MrsBug Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939194 Wow, I wonder if that area they were excavating was built on fill? Wow, I wonder if that area they were excavating was built on fill?

]]> By: MattF http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939200 MattF Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939200 It's quite possible that this is non-Newtonian fluid mechanics in action. A solid (high-viscosity) is given a shock and becomes liquid (low-viscosity). The transition causes a second shock, that causes more of the solid to liquefy, and so on, and so on. My recollection is that this can happen particularly with clayey soils. The technical term for a fluid that becomes less viscous when shocked is 'thixotropic'. It’s quite possible that this is non-Newtonian fluid mechanics in action. A solid (high-viscosity) is given a shock and becomes liquid (low-viscosity). The transition causes a second shock, that causes more of the solid to liquefy, and so on, and so on. My recollection is that this can happen particularly with clayey soils. The technical term for a fluid that becomes less viscous when shocked is ‘thixotropic’.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/15/devastating-landslid.html#comment-939205 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-939205 While I'm sure this happened really quickly, It looks like this video has a bit of time lapse in it. While I’m sure this happened really quickly, It looks like this video has a bit of time lapse in it.

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