Larsen, M.C., Wieczorek, G.F., Eaton, L.S., Morgan, B.A., Torres-Sierra, H., 2001,
Natural Hazards on Alluvial Fans: the Venezuela debris-flow and flash-flood disaster: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet, FS 103-01, 4 p.
Abstract:
In December 1999, rainstorms induced
thousands of landslides along the
Cordillera de la Costa, Vargas,
northern Venezuela. Rainfall on
December 2-3 totaled 200 millimeters
(8 inches) and was followed by a major
storm (911 millimeters, or 36 inches) on
December 14 through 16. Debris flows
and flash floods on alluvial fans
inundated coastal communities,
caused severe property destruction,
and resulted in a death toll estimated
at 19,000 people. Because most of the
coastal zone in Vargas consists of
steep mountain fronts that rise
abruptly from the Caribbean Sea, the
alluvial fans are the only areas where
slopes are not too steep to build.
Rebuilding and reoccupation of these
areas requires careful determination
of potential hazard zones to avoid
future loss of life and property.