Week 8 Mass Wasting

Mass wasting, in the form of landslides, mudslides, and rockslides, is becoming an increasing problem in Ireland. Landslides occur because of gravity pulling earth and rock downhill, but often, Ireland's heavy rain increases these events. Mixing the wet climate with Ireland's hilly terrain creates a high risk for certain areas.

A recent landslide is the peat landslide in County Donegal in 2020. Weeks of rain had soaked the soil, and with one swoop, a landslide hit hard at the local nature reserve. Further back, in 2003, another huge landslide took place due to the building of a wind farm, this time in Derrybrien, County Galway. The latter was the result of a combination of deforestation and heavy rainfall. It caused not only environmental destruction but also some legal repercussions for Ireland with regard to the way it was managed.

Most of them feature the same cause, too much rainfall. That is when the earth's saturation causes its walls and floors to begin losing stability, especially if areas are steep; that is how landslides occur. Unlike other places where earthquakes or wildfires might trigger landslides, Ireland merely has to worry about rain combined with other factors like deforestation or construction projects, all of which only continue to worsen the situation by disturbing the land further.

This is also increasingly of concern in the case of climate change. Ireland's getting more intense storms and heavier downpours; it's just adding to that risk. Coastal areas, such as Mayo and Clare, are beginning to feel this complete erosion weakening cliffs. Adding the constant pounding from the Atlantic only furthers wear and tear on the land, and makes rockslides and landslides more possible.

The way to fix this issue comes from better land management and sustainable development. Not overdeveloping in hazardous areas, along with building in a smarter way, could make a big impact in minimizing the impact of these events. Also, better drainage systems, along with proper treatment of vulnerable areas might go a long way toward preventing such natural disasters from causing too much harm.

Overall, landslides/mass wasting events are definitely something Ireland's government should be giving more attention to. With a change in climate and the way human activities have been affecting the land, these events are getting more frequent. With advances in land management and innovative preparation for these events, there is hope to reduce the damage these cause to the environment and people's lives.

References:

• Geological Survey of Ireland - Landslides
• Office of Public Works - Flood Risk Management
• Met Éireann - Irish Weather and Climate
• thetimes.co.uk(image)